MEMORIAL DAY Beaumont Hamel - On July 1st, 1916, the first day of the battle of the Somme, over seven hundred members of the First Newfoundland Regiment were either killed or wounded in fierce fighting during an Allied attack against the German Army. Advancing steadily in formation over open ground against strongly held German defences, the regiment suffered horrific losses that devastated Newfoundland and had a profound impact on the colony. Determined to erect a permanent memorial to their dead, the Government of Newfoundland acquired a 25-hectare portion of the battlefield in the early 1920s. The battlefield was preserved, and a memorial park was created with plantings, pathways, fences, and a central large cairn, featuring a life-sized bronze sculpture of a caribou. Other plaques and memorials have also been installed in the park. Upon entry into Confederation in 1949, the Beaumont-Hamel war memorial has been managed by the Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and all of the people of Canada.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:06:32 +0000
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