Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family arrived in France on Saturday night to take part in ceremonies marking the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Doreen Bargholz of Summerland, B.C., left, and her brother, Herbert Arthur Peterson of Lethbridge, Alta., put a wreath of flowers on the casket of their uncle, Pte. Herbert Peterson.
(Michel Spingler/Associated Press)

Harper, accompanied by his wife Laureen and their children, Ben, 10, and seven-year-old Rachel, left Ottawa in the morning. It's the first official trip for Harper's children.

Earlier Saturday, the body of Pte. Herbert Peterson was finally laid to rest with his comrades-in-arms at La Chaudière Military Cemetery after DNA tests recently identified his remains. It was the first in a series of special events planned through Monday.

For the Harpers, the ceremonies have special meaning.

Laureen Harper's great-uncle, Pte. James Teskey, died in the Battle of Arras in 1917 and is buried in a cemetery near Vimy Ridge. Her grandfather, Benjamin Teskey, attended the original Vimy Memorial dedication in 1936.

In July last year, Harper and his wife visited the gravesite of her great- uncle.

"The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a critical victory for the allies in the First World War and it was an important milestone for Canada," Harper said in a news release earlier in the week. "Our young country came of age as an independent nation that day and I am extremely proud to represent Canada at the 90th anniversary."

The battle, an assault on a strategic escarpment held by German troops, is considered one of Canada's most important military victories. It was a breakthrough that had eluded British and French troops for two years. The battle, which left 3,598 dead, began on April 9, 1917.

On Sunday, Harper is expected to take part in the Freedom of the City parade and ceremony in Arras, which is about 15 kilometres from the ridge. The mayor of Arras is expected to present a key to the city gate to members of the Canadian Forces.

On Monday, Harper will join the Queen and French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin in officially rededicating the monument honouring the Canadians who fought in the First World War but have no known grave.

The monument has engraved on it the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France and whose remains have never been found.

Soldier laid to rest

Stephen Harper and his family arrive in France for the Vimy Ridge anniversary ceremonies.
(CBC)

Peterson, a 22-year-old soldier from Barry Creek, Alta., had gone missing during a nighttime raid about two months after the Vimy Ridge battle near Pas-De-Calais.

In 2003, workers in northern France uncovered the remains of two Canadian soldiers at a construction site south of Avion. Researchers at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., were able to identify one of the bodies as that of Peterson.

At the cemetery within sight of the towering Vimy Ridge memorial, Peterson's flag-draped coffin was carried on the shoulders of six soldiers, while his niece and nephew watched.

A lighting ceremony was later held at the twin 27-metre stone pillars that make up the newly restored monument, built in 1936 at a cost of $1.5 million. The facelift cost $20 million.

"With the sun setting, the entire monument was lit up," Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier said of the ceremony. "It was absolutely spectacular."

With files from the Canadian Press