A Difficult Path to Tread

Authors

Paul Gough, University of the West of England, BristolFollow

Abstract

In a previous issue of Canadian Military History (Vol.5, No.l, Spring 1996) I looked at the recently unveiled Canadian War Memorial in Green Park in London, UK. I drew comparisons between the memorial and its counterparts on the Somme and at Vimy Ridge, I was fascinated by the fusion of abstract and figurative elements, and speculated that this combination of hard modernist edges with dramatic use of statuary seemed to be a particular strength of Canadian war memorials. Later that year I was invited by Professor Terry Copp to join a Canadian universities study group in France. At Caen, Normandy I had the chance to examine the new Canadian garden at Le Memorial de la Paix. This is a quite original, even controversial, installation, more of a peace garden than a monument. As a garden space it seems to want to tell a particular story; its layout invites speculation and association. There are, though, many ways of ‘reading’ a landscaped space: this is my attempt.

Recommended Citation

Gough, Paul "A Difficult Path to Tread." Canadian Military History 8, 1 (1999)