by Marc Lewis
For most of Canada, July 1 is a day of celebration — filled with fireworks, barbeques, and trips to the beach or the lake. In Newfoundland and Labrador, however, the holiday begins with a more sombre commemoration: Memorial Day.
Memorial Day marks the moment on July 1, 1916, when most of the Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out at the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, in France.
This year marks the centennial of the battle, which was part of the larger Battle of the Somme — a months-long engagement of the First World War that cost the lives of tens of thousands of combatants on both sides.
At Beaumont Hamel, 780 soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment, operating under the command of the British, went “over the top,” only be immediately cut down by enemy fire. The next day, only sixty-eight men were present for roll call; the other 710 had either been wounded or killed.
Newfoundland’s population in 1916 was only around 240,000, and the tragedy at Beaumont-Hamel touched the entire Dominion. The political, economic, and cultural impacts of that battle are still felt in the province today.
July 1, 2016, will mark the ninety-ninth Memorial Day, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have organized a multitude of events to commemorate the occasion.
The official ceremony of remembrance will take place at 10:45 a.m. at the War Memorial in St. John’s. The ceremony is traditionally attended by veterans, provincial, and city officials, as well as many members of the public.
In addition, The Rooms, the province’s flagship museum and archives, is hosting a number of functions. Each Sunday, from May 29 to June 26, The Rooms will host a series of Evenings of Remembrance during which museum officials will read the names of the soldiers from Newfoundland and Labrador who died in the First World War. On July 1, following the Ceremony of Remembrance in downtown St. John’s, The Rooms will host an extended tribute to those who fell at Beaumont-Hamel. The ceremony will feature musical acts and the dedication of a new permanent exhibition on the achievements of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment Gallery will include mementoes and writing from First World War soldiers, and will be available to the public as a permanent exhibition. The Rooms will offer free admission to this exhibition on July 2 and 3.
Many communities outside St. John’s are planning to host their own ceremonies of remembrance. For instance, the Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve along the south coast of the Avalon Peninsula, as well as the City of Corner Brook along the west coast, will host commemorative events.
Meanwhile, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, via its “Honour 100” organization, is sponsoring a battlefield tour of Beaumont-Hamel, as well as Memorial Day Commemoration ceremony that will take place onsite in France on July 1.
Creative groups are also producing tributes to the veterans. Earlier in March, Where Once We Stood played to two sold out shows in St. John’s. The show — a joint production of the Spirit of Newfoundland, a local dinner theatre company, and the Church Lads’ Brigade regimental band — tells the story of the “First 500” volunteers who signed up to wear the Newfoundland Regiment’s famed “Blue Puttees.”
July 1 and 2 will see the production of Ours at the St. John’s Arts and Culture Centre, a production of Opera on the Avalon. Ours, produced by Canadian composer John Estacio and Newfoundland writer Robert Chafe, tells the real-life story of Thomas Nangle, the chaplain for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the Great War. Ours will feature many local actors and performers.
Regardless of where you are on July 1 take a moment to remember the Newfoundland Regiment and what happened at Beaumont-Hamel only one hundred years ago.