BEAUMONT-HAMEL NEWFOUNDLAND MEMORIAL
Somme
France
Location Information
Beaumont-Hamel Memorial Park, situated 9 kilometres directly north of the town of Albert, was establish in memory of Newfoundlanders who fell in the First World War.
Using the D919 from Arras to Amiens you will drive through the villages of Bucquoy, Puisieux then Serre Les Puisieux (approximately 20 kilometres south of Arras). On leaving Serre Les Puisieux, 3 kilometres further along the D919, turn left following the signs for Auchonvillers. At the crossroads in the village centre follow the signs for 'Newfoundland Park, Beaumont Hamel'.
Historical Information
Beaumont-Hamel was attacked by the 29th Division on 1 July 1916 and although some units reached it, the village was not taken. It was finally captured by the 51st (Highland) and 63rd (Royal Naval) Divisions on the following 13 November.
The 29th Division included the 1st Battalion of the Newfoundland Regiment, as it was then called. The attack on Beaumont-Hamel in July 1916 was the first severe engagement of the regiment, and the most costly. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, no unit suffered heavier losses than the Newfoundland Regiment which had gone into action 801 strong. The roll call the next day revealed that the final figures were 233 killed or dead of wounds, 386 wounded, and 91 missing. Every officer who went forward in the Newfoundland attack was either killed or wounded. For this reason, the government of Newfoundland chose the hill south-west of the village, where the front-line trenches ran at the time of the battle, as the site of their memorial to the soldiers (and also to the sailors) of Newfoundland.
Of the few battlefield parks in France and Belgium where the visitor can see a Great War battlefield much as it was, Beaumont Hamel is the largest. The actual trenches are still there and something of the terrible problem of advancing over such country can be appreciated by the visitor.
The memorial itself stands at the highest point of the park and consists of a great caribou cast in bronze, emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. At the base, three tablets of bronze carry the names of over 800 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve and the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine, who gave their lives in the First World War and who have no known grave. Erroneously included on the memorial is the name of W. Pilgrim who survived the war and whose details will not appear within the C.W.G.C. records. The memorial designed by R.H.K. Cochius, with sculpture by Basil Gotto. It was unveiled by Earl Haig on 7 June 1925.
Within the Park are three British Cemeteries (those of Hawthorn Ridge No. 2, "Y" Ravine and Hunter's) and two other Battle Memorials (those of the 51st (Highland) and the 29th Divisions).
Beaumont-Hamel Memorial Park, situated 9 kilometres directly north of the town of Albert, was establish in memory of Newfoundlanders who fell in the First World War.
Using the D919 from Arras to Amiens you will drive through the villages of Bucquoy, Puisieux then Serre Les Puisieux (approximately 20 kilometres south of Arras). On leaving Serre Les Puisieux, 3 kilometres further along the D919, turn left following the signs for Auchonvillers. At the crossroads in the village centre follow the signs for 'Newfoundland Park, Beaumont Hamel'.
Historical Information
Beaumont-Hamel was attacked by the 29th Division on 1 July 1916 and although some units reached it, the village was not taken. It was finally captured by the 51st (Highland) and 63rd (Royal Naval) Divisions on the following 13 November.
The 29th Division included the 1st Battalion of the Newfoundland Regiment, as it was then called. The attack on Beaumont-Hamel in July 1916 was the first severe engagement of the regiment, and the most costly. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, no unit suffered heavier losses than the Newfoundland Regiment which had gone into action 801 strong. The roll call the next day revealed that the final figures were 233 killed or dead of wounds, 386 wounded, and 91 missing. Every officer who went forward in the Newfoundland attack was either killed or wounded. For this reason, the government of Newfoundland chose the hill south-west of the village, where the front-line trenches ran at the time of the battle, as the site of their memorial to the soldiers (and also to the sailors) of Newfoundland.
Of the few battlefield parks in France and Belgium where the visitor can see a Great War battlefield much as it was, Beaumont Hamel is the largest. The actual trenches are still there and something of the terrible problem of advancing over such country can be appreciated by the visitor.
The memorial itself stands at the highest point of the park and consists of a great caribou cast in bronze, emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. At the base, three tablets of bronze carry the names of over 800 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve and the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine, who gave their lives in the First World War and who have no known grave. Erroneously included on the memorial is the name of W. Pilgrim who survived the war and whose details will not appear within the C.W.G.C. records. The memorial designed by R.H.K. Cochius, with sculpture by Basil Gotto. It was unveiled by Earl Haig on 7 June 1925.
Within the Park are three British Cemeteries (those of Hawthorn Ridge No. 2, "Y" Ravine and Hunter's) and two other Battle Memorials (those of the 51st (Highland) and the 29th Divisions).
443 Lance Corporal
John Joseph Ellis
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 22.
Son of John Joseph and Annie Ellis, of 359, South Side Rd., St. John's.
John Joseph Ellis
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 22.
Son of John Joseph and Annie Ellis, of 359, South Side Rd., St. John's.
1858 Private
Gordon Etheridge
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 24.
Son of John and Priscilla Etheridge. of Champneys East, Trinity.
Gordon Etheridge
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 24.
Son of John and Priscilla Etheridge. of Champneys East, Trinity.
1799 Private
George Hollett
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 23.
Son of William and Charlotte Hollett, of Port au Bras, Burin.
George Hollett
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 23.
Son of William and Charlotte Hollett, of Port au Bras, Burin.
Lieutenant
Robert Palfrey Holloway, Mentioned in Despatches
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 30.
Son of Robert Edwards and Henrietta Holloway, husband of Agnes Isobel Holloway, of 115, Summer Hill Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Robert Palfrey Holloway, Mentioned in Despatches
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 30.
Son of Robert Edwards and Henrietta Holloway, husband of Agnes Isobel Holloway, of 115, Summer Hill Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
2551 Private
Aubrey Holmes
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 22.
Son of Henry Holmes, of Springdale, Halls Bay.
Aubrey Holmes
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 22.
Son of Henry Holmes, of Springdale, Halls Bay.
2865 Private
James Leonard
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917
Son of Thomas Leonard, of British Harbour, Trinity.
James Leonard
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917
Son of Thomas Leonard, of British Harbour, Trinity.
665 Private
Josiah H. Penney
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 26.
Son of Josiah and Anna Penney, of Carbonear.
Josiah H. Penney
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 26.
Son of Josiah and Anna Penney, of Carbonear.
Second Lieutenant
Samuel R. Smith
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 27.
Son of John Smith, of Harbour Briton, Fortune.
Samuel R. Smith
Newfoundland Regiment
14th April 1917, aged 27.
Son of John Smith, of Harbour Briton, Fortune.
685 Lance Corporal
Frederick Snow, M. M.
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Son of George and Dinah Snow, of 116, Pleasant St., St. John's.
Frederick Snow, M. M.
Newfoundland Regiment
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Son of George and Dinah Snow, of 116, Pleasant St., St. John's.
Aerial vertical view showing trench lines of Beaumont Hamel, 10 October 1916. British trenches are on the bottom left. © (Q 61479)
Pictures in gallery below © Johan Pauwels
