LILLE, France - Prime Minister Stephen Harper, his wife Laureen and their children Ben and Rachel have landed in northern France where they will participate in ceremonies this weekend marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
Harper left Ottawa on a Canadian Forces jet Saturday morning. It was an uneventful flight. The Prime Minister did not speak to reporters travelling with him, spending the seven-hour flight in his private quarters on the Canadian Air Force Airbus A-310.
Jason Kenney, Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, was the only other politician to accompany the Prime Minister on the flight.
This is the first official overseas trip for Ben and Rachel.
For Ben, there's a special connection. His mother's great grandfather -- Benjamin Teskey, Ben's namesake -- was at the original Vimy Memorial dedication in 1936.
Benjamin senior's younger brother James died in the battle of Arras in 1917 and is buried at a cemetery not far from Vimy Ridge.
Laureen Harper visited James' grave last summer.
The Prime Minister and his family will spend the night in Lille, France. On Sunday, the Prime Minister will attend Easter services at a Vimy church and oversee a parade of Canadian Forces personnel through the city of Arras.
The mayor of Arras will present the key to the city gate to Canadian Forces personnel.
On Monday, Queen Elizabeth will officially dedicate the refurbished Vimy monument. A crowd of 25,000 is expected.
A long-delayed burial
Earlier on Saturday, Vimy celebrations kicked off with the burial of a Canadian soldier who had been missing for 86 years.
Pte. Herbert Peterson -- of the 49th Battalion, Canadian Infantry, now the Loyal Edmonton Regiment -- died in June 1917, but his body wasn't discovered until 2003 by construction workers in Avion, France. They found him less than two kilometres from Vimy Ridge.
A three-year forensic investigation determined it was Peterson, who had gone missing with another soldier.
The forensic team first established that the bodies were Canadian, then identified him. They are still working on identifying the other soldier.
Peterson, who was 22 when he died, was buried in the La Chaudiere cemetery. He joins more than 600 other Canadian soldiers -- 132 of them unknown.
Current members of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment carried his casket.
More than 500 people attended the funeral, including former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson.
"This ceremony is for all those who gave their lives for freedom," she said.
Members of the Canadian Forces held a sunset ceremony at the back of the Vimy monument on Saturday evening, acknowledging the military tradition of signalling the troops to return to garrison at nightfall.
With files from The Canadian Press
