Name: Preserving the stories etched into tunnel walls beneath Vimy Ridge
Uploaded: 2025-11-11T02:25:18.512Z
Duration: 2 min 12 s
Description: Technology is helping to preserve and share the art and stories that were etched into the chalk walls in the tunnels below Vimy Ridge during the First World War.

Technology is helping to preserve and share the art and stories that were etched into the chalk walls in the tunnels below Vimy Ridge during the First World War.

Givenchy-en-Gohelle

Beneath Vimy Ridge in France, tunnels once used by Canadian soldiers during World War I are filled with carvings and writings left on the chalk walls, some made just before the soldiers went into battle. Over a century later, researchers are employing handheld 3D scanners to digitally capture these historic markings, revealing more than 30 new names and linking them to the soldiers who created them.

The preservation work is urgent, as the tunnels are unstable and some have already collapsed, with the chalk walls being extremely fragile. Teams are reinforcing the tunnels and planting trees to help protect the site, aiming to ensure that these personal stories and pieces of history are not lost to time.

Preserving the stories etched into tunnel walls beneath Vimy Ridge

In the tunnels beneath Vimy Ridge where Canadian soldiers once waited for battle the last post echoes a tribute to the soldiers who left their mark on these chalk walls. It's like walking into a church alone and you see these carvings on the wall that these soldiers had done in some cases right before they died. These are the tunnels below Vimy Ridge a haunting gallery of names and art carved by Canadian soldiers on the eve of battle. There were subway tunnels through here and they were all connected so the supplies as well as the men are moving through these this fast fast tunnel system. At Vimy Ridge Canada proved itself a young nation finding its voice amid the thunder of war while they waited anxious soldiers passed the time carving and writing in the soft walls. This is very famous. Now more than a century later new messages are being uncovered thanks to 21st century technology. New handheld 3D scanners capture the carvings in colour and detail. So these guys Beckett and Mason. Revealing more than 30 new names once lost to time. That's just a really prime example. Once scanned the carvings are digitally realized linked to the name and face of the soldier who carved them offering a glimpse into their thoughts often fixed on love and home. It links the past with the present and it gets that message across that we need to remember the people that actually serve. Their work is a race against time. The tunnels are unstable and some have already collapsed. A Canadian was killed in 1998 while documenting the art. The chalk that is down there it's very very fragile. So we have to get there now with a sense of urgency as much as as we can to record as much as we can. A century later these tunnels still speak but they can't hold out forever. Teams are shoring up tunnels planting trees to preserve the fragile chalk. Fighting to ensure this history isn't swallowed by the earth. Colin Butler, CBC News, London, Ontario.

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