Sunday, October 14, 2012

A place that represents home

Another highlight of our tour was our visit to Beaumont Hamel, the monument to the Newfoundlanders who died in the battle there as well as those who died elsewhere in this terrible war.








It was interesting to note that the women of NL along with the Governemnt raised the money to buy the land for the memorial.




The Battle of Beaumont Hamel began on July 1, 1916 and was part of the ill fated Battle of the Somme. This Allied offensive on the Western Front was carried out by 13 British Divisions and the Newfoundland Regiment. They were to launch the offensive on a 23 km front to the North while the French would go forward on a 13 km front to the South.

The effort was to be enormous in scale and, if all went as planned the initial strike would be decisive and the breakthrough of the German lines immediate. However the first day was a disaster and it was to be the most catastrophic day's fighting in the history of the British army. Losses were appalling: of the 120,000 British soldiers who fought that day almost half were casualties with over 19,000 dead.

The Newfoundland Regiment were standing in wait to move from their trenches called St. John's Road which were a little uphill from the Germans. The Allied Forces had detonated a huge mine further up the ridge which alerted the Germans that an attack was under way. Instead of charging immediately after the explosion, orders to advance came 20 minutes later. This delay gave the Germans time to regroup and reposition their machine guns so when the first line of Welsh soldiers went up over the trenches they were mowed down. Instead of holding their positions to regroup themselves, the Newfoundland Regiment were ordered at 8:45 to advance.

As soon as they crested the ridge line they were clearly visible to the Germans with no protection from any side. They also were hindered by barbed wire that was supposed to be cut but wasn't and bodies of the ones that had gone before them. Within 20 minutes most of them were dead, dying or wounded.Some made it as far as the Danger Tree, a landmark about halfway across No Mans Land but few, if any made it to the objective of the German lines.

Of the 780 who started there were only 110 survivors. In reality the Newfoundland Regiment was wiped out that morning at Beaumont Hamel.

The Memorial consists of 74 acres over which the battle was fought. The land has been kept in the same condition with the tunnels and craters made by the artillery still there.




A school group going through the tunnels.






Craters created on July 1,1916.




Pine trees from NL planted on the site.





Don and our guide, Christian walking the site.






The symbolic Danger Tree that was visible by the Germans and was in range of their guns. Many men only made it this far.





Don standing under the Caribou Memorial that stands at the high point of the land. The caribou is menacing and stands to face the enemy. There are 5 such memorials in this area and the 6th one is in Bowering Park, St.John's.




Some of the graves of the fallen soldiers. They all have the caribou crest of the Newfoundland Regiment.





A headstone of E. Moore, age 21 and an unknown comrade, two soldiers of the Great War.





There were men from over 800 communities in the Newfoundland Regiment, all of which are recorded in the Visitors Centre.




Lest we forget!

This is a place that all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should visit. It makes us realize that all those Remembrance Day ceremonies and Memorial Day parades are held for a reason. Coming to Beaumont Hamel now gives us many more reasons to understand why.
Location:Iper, Belgium

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