The mobile app provides an interactive experience in commemoration of the battle at Vimy Ridge.
There are many reasons that make this project significant. It allows people an inside look into the battleground and provides an appreciation of Canada’s history and the sacrifices made.
The app also features music performed and recorded by the EPS Pipes and Drums at the Winspear Centre in November 2020. During their concert, the Pipes and Drums performed a set called Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) Drummer’s Call and March Past, containing three tunes from the WWI era adopted by the PPCLI as their march past.
In 1914, the Pipes and Drums band joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry to bring music to the battlefields.
This music piece was licensed to the Vimy Foundation for use on the app and it appears in “The Battle” menu within the story called “Canadian Outpost Line.”
The EPS Pipes and Drums became involved with the project through good fortune. In June 2021, the Vimy Foundation contacted Supt. Derek McIntyre, as part of a nation-wide search for recorded pipe band music matching the Battle at Vimy period and assist in telling the story of the PPCLI’s efforts during the battle.
Supt. McIntyre noted it was a substantial honour for the EPS Pipes and Drums to be involved with this project, as their request was easy to lend assistance to when considering the same values are shared amongst pipe band members, current and retired members of the EPS, other police agencies and the military.
“Getting our role in the project across the finish line had some moving parts we as a band were unfamiliar on how to complete,” he said. “The broader EPS team got this work completed, on a tight timeline, and our music featured on the app is a testament to our organizational commitment to always remembering our strong military past and honouring those who paved the way to freedom for so many. We will remember them.”
EPS Pipes and Drums band during their Winspear performance
Celebrating a milestone
This Remembrance Day, the EPS Pipes and Drums band is celebrating 60 years of public performances!
Known as the Diamond Anniversary, on Nov. 11, 1962, the Pipes and Drums band gave its first performance at the Remembrance Day service in Edmonton. This was the first in a long history of tributes to our fallen soldiers as the pipe band has performed at every Remembrance Day service since.
“Military history and honouring our soldiers is something our band keeps very close to our hearts,” Supt. McIntyre said. “We have performed locally, nationally and internationally to bring the gift of music to many events where the military is being honoured.”
Vimy: A Living Memorial can be downloaded on the app store.
More information on the EPS Pipes and Drums band can be found by clicking here.