By Ethan M. Coudenys

The Battle of the Somme began on July 1, 1916, at 7:30 a.m., but preparations for the attack took longer than expected. The advance was planned to relieve pressure on the French forces fighting at Verdun, and it was meant to take place during the last few days of June. However, because of poor weather, the attack was delayed. For the First Newfoundland Regiment (later the Royal Newfoundland Regiment), this meant lying in wait for the assault to begin. On the first day of July, at 7:20 a.m., the Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt held by the Germans was blown up, and the British attack began 10 minutes later.

Over the course of 45 minutes (between 9 and 9:45 a.m.), the Newfoundlanders sent their men over the top of the St. John’s Road trench into no man’s land. Unfortunately, due to the high casualty rates during the early phases of the attack that morning, the Newfoundlanders had to walk above the trenches, instead of benefitting from the relative safety of the communication trenches that linked the secondary line to the primary and observation lines. In this period, nearly 85 per cent of the Regiment would be killed, wounded, or missing. Of the nearly 900 Newfoundlanders in the field, only 65 would be present at roll call the following day.

The Battle of Beaumont-Hamel was the bloodiest day in Newfoundland’s history, and in the First World War as a whole. The loss of life was too much for the British Dominion of Newfoundland. It was forced to revert to colony status in the 1920s and eventually joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949. The commemoration of this battle is a moving story that deserves more attention.

Beaumont-Hamel dedication ceremony for the Royal Newfoundland Regiment (e010751150).

The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park, currently administered by Veterans Affairs Canada, is located at the site of the battle. Canadian student guides are there every day, sharing the story of the Newfoundlanders of the Great War who gave their lives in service to their nation. The park itself is incredibly pristine, with massive trees, magnificent gardens and an excellent visitors centre. But the landscape tells the tale of the horrific impact that the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel had on the Dominion of Newfoundland, and the terrifying reality of war for the regiment.

The memorial site itself officially opened on June 7, 1925, and it offers a setting with a sense of home for the soldiers who were killed in the battle. The park’s landscape architect, Basil Gotto, created this ambiance by including over 5,000 trees native to Newfoundland. The major memorial is the Caribou Monument, which stands more or less on the British front line. This massive bronze statue faces toward the direction of the advance by the Newfoundlanders on July 1, 1916. The caribou’s mouth is open, and it appears to be calling out to the fallen, calling them back home. The Caribou Monument is one of seven such memorials in France, Belgium, Turkey, and Newfoundland and Labrador, which mark major moments in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s participation in the First World War.

The caribou statue stands at the top of a massive mound. At the base of the mound is a wall with three bronze plaques. These have the names of the 823 fallen soldiers, sailors and merchant seamen who died in the war without a known resting place. The youngest of these was 14 years old at the time of his death, while the oldest was 60. These plaques, which are original to the site, have survived a second world war and several weather events. During the Second World War, in fact, the only element from the memorial park that did not survive was the bronze lions next to the 51st Highland Division monument near the rear of the park.

Beaumont-Hamel Caribou Monument, around December 2022. Image courtesy of the author, Ethan M. Coudenys.

Today, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park is one of the most well-preserved and moving memorials to the sacrifices made during the First World War. With Canadian students providing free guided tours, and the atmosphere of the park itself, it truly demonstrates the tragedy of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel and the unfathomable losses suffered by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

Additional resources

• Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada website
• A Blue Puttee at War: The Memoir of Captain Sydney Frost, MC by Charles Sydney Frost (OCLC 889649823)
• Beaumont Hamel, Newfoundland Park by Nigel Cave (OCLC 953851758)

Ethan M. Coudenys is a Genealogy Consultant at Library and Archives Canada, and a former student guide at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial.