Ceremony in France Marks 98th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

News Release

A tribute to Newfoundlanders who fought during the First World War

Reference: N14062E

July 1, 2014 – Beaumont-Hamel, France – Veterans Affairs Canada

On the occasion of the 98^th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, Canadian and French citizens gathered today at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France to commemorate the Newfoundland soldiers who fought so valiantly during the opening day of the Battle of the Somme during the First World War.

On behalf of the Honourable Julian Fantino, Canada’s Minister of Veterans Affairs, Pierre Guimond, Minister-Counsellor with the Canadian Embassy in Paris, paid tribute to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and honoured the memory of all the brave men and women who served during the First World War.

Quick Facts

The Battle of the Somme began at 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1916, along the Western Front in France. Thousands of soldiers from Britain, Newfoundland, and France climbed out of their trenches to walk across "No Man’s Land" through a hail of machine gun fire toward the German lines. By the day’s end, more than 57,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers had been killed or wounded, or were missing.
It would be the start of a brutal, more than four-month battle in which the Allies moved the front line forward about 10 kilometres. During the fall, in offensives that began at Courcelette, the Canadian Corps also fought with distinction.
The 1^st Newfoundland Regiment was virtually decimated near the towns of Beaumont and Hamel, although the survivors continued and the reinforced regiment later earned the official designation "Royal Newfoundland Regiment" in recognition of its gallant service.
The striking Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France—a bronze caribou, which is the emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment—commemorates more than 800 Newfoundlanders who died in the war and have no known grave.

Quotes

"The morning of this day marks the catastrophic beginning of a major First World War battle and its immeasurable costs in casualties and lives. We honour the members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment for their great valour in the Battle of the Somme and through all the years of the war."
The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs

"On July 1^st, on both sides of the Atlantic, in Canada and at Beaumont-Hamel in France, we pause and pay solemn tribute to the brave Newfoundlanders who fought and fell on that tragic morning, 98 years ago."
Pierre Guimond, Minister-Counsellor, Canadian Embassy in Paris

Associated Link

Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

– 30 –

Contacts

Barbara Mottram
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
613-996-4649

Media Relations
Veterans Affairs Canada
613-992-7468

Search for related information by keyword

Veterans Affairs Canada Military Information and Communications History and Archaeology

Page details

2016-12-14

We have archived this page and will not be updating it.

We have archived this page and will not be updating it.

Ceremony in France Marks 98th Anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

News Release

Page details