| Last updated at 12:08 AM on 17/09/07 |
Canadians have a friend in Vimy, France 
Georges Devloo, visiting P.E.I. for the first time, has been driving Canadians from the train station in his small village to the Vimy memorial at no charge for more than a decade
JIM DAY
The Guardian
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| Jessica Larter of Stratford recently served as translator and tour guide for a special guest, Georges Devloo of Vimy, France. The 84-year-old Devloo, who is visiting Canada for the third time, has been driving Canadians from the train station in his small home village to the Vimy Memorial at no charge for more than a decade. Guardian photo by Jim Day
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Georges Devloo pauses for the briefest of moments when asked why he visits Canada.
“He says he doesn’t come to visit the country, he comes to visit the people,’’ says Jessica Larter of Stratford, serving as the 84-year-old Vimy resident’s translator.
Larter, 22, first met Devloo, donning his trademark black French beret, last fall when she spent four months as a tour guide at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Devloo, a charming man of few English words but with a steady, exuberant flow of French, is affectionately known as “grampie’’ to many tour guides of the majestic monument that is inscribed with the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were listed as missing and presumed dead in France after the First World War.
“He always came to visit us during the day and bring us waffles and stuff,’’ said Larter. “He is so kind.’’
Devloo, a retired teacher, who has lived in Vimy since 1939, has beaten his own well-worn path to the memorial by transporting Canadians there for the past 11 years.
He regularly rounds up unsuspecting, but greatly appreciative arrivals at the Vimy train station to drive them to the monument. Many visitors assume the monument is near the train station, but are surprised to learn the trek requires a 90-minute walk.
Devloo, who lost his wife in a collision several years ago, gets them there in about 10 minutes by car.
This year alone — the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge — he chauffeured at no cost about 200 people, the large majority Canadians, to the monument.
Each of the previous years over the past decade, he averaged about 130 passengers.
Some arrivals, learning of the hospitable service through word of mouth, call the elderly-yet-energetic man at his home for a lift. He never says no.
He also has commonly offered visitors free accommodation in his home in Vimy, which is a small village that has no hotels.
“He feels it is an act of respect because Canada has done so much for him,’’ said Larter, translating after patiently listening to a typically long and animated response from Devloo, watching with amusement as the Frenchman’s hands and arms whip through the air for emphasis.
Canadians, in turn, are eager to show their gratitude. Many write Devloo letters and send him gifts. He has developed a great fondness for maple syrup products.
And during his trips to Canada — this is his third, but first visit to P.E.I. — he always has a place to stay, often in the home of one of the many former guides of the Vimy Memorial.
Last week he spent several days at the home of Larter, who lives with her parents, Dave and Maureen Larter.
When he returns home to France in a couple weeks, he will pick up where he left off: picking up Canadians at the Vimy train station. He can’t be sure how long he will be able to continue his goodwill gesture, but for now he is in good health.
“It helps him stay young,’’ added Larter.
From P.E.I., Devloo travelled to Moncton to meet a former tour guide from Bathurst. Then he was scheduled to visit guides in Quebec.
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