Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

Hill 70

Rocky Mountain Rangers headed to France to dedicate bench at Hill 70 Memorial

Sep 23, 2019 | 5:23 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Rocky Mountain Rangers are heading to France on the weekend to lay wreaths at significant Hill 70 Memorial sites.

A walkway, named after Pte. Frederick Lee of Kamloops, has been constructed to honour his memory.

Being of Chinese descent, Lee was not recognized as a Canadian citizen at the time of the First World War. He volunteered for service and fought at Hill 70.

The Rocky Mountain Rangers have been raising money for a bench along Freddy’s walkway.

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“The real purpose of the regiment going is to dedicate this bench, which we’ve been raising money to pay for,” said Gerry Jones, vice president of the Rocky Mountain Rangers Regimental Association. “We’ve just topped the $6,000 mark of $25,000, so we’re still taking donations. But, the fact that Freddy was a member of the regiment, he fought in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, survived and he actually survived the offensive attack on Hill 70 and it wasn’t until six days later during the multiple German counter-attacks that Freddy was lost in battle.”

There is also a plaza at the Hill 70 Memorial named after the Rocky Mountain Rangers.

These sites at Hill 70 honour the Canadians that played such a significant role in the First World War.

“It solidified us as a country,” said Mike Young, president of the Rocky Mountain Rangers. “To be able to memorialize the soldiers that paid the ultimate sacrifice in these battles and to be memorialized with them, and then for us to be able to go over and to be able to lay a wreath in their memory, for me that’s extraordinary.”