Beaumont-Hamel

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beaumont-Hamel is a commune of the Somme département, in northern France. Population: 225.

Postal code: 80 300

Area: 8.31 km²

Altitude: 75 m

1 Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
2 History
3 Honours
4 Visitors' Information
5 Quotations
6 External links

[edit] Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

The Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont Hamel

Situated some 7 miles north of Albert and opened by Earl Haig on June 7, 1925 Newfoundland Memorial Park, covering 84 acres, was purchased by the Government of Newfoundland as a memorial to the armed forces of Newfoundland.

Along with preserved trench lines there are a number of memorials and cemeteries contained within the park. Always a popular destination for WW1 battlefield visitors, the park was a focus of early pilgrimages by survivors of the war. On April 10th, 1997, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial was designated as a Canadian National Historic Site by the then Minister of Canadian Heritage, Sheila Copps.

There are three cemeteries within Newfoundland Memorial Park: Hawthorn Ridge No. 2 (containing 214 burials from July 1; 191 UK, 23 Newfoundland); Hunter's (46 burials); and Y Ravine (366 burials; 328 UK, 38 Newfoundland).

Aside from the notable preserved trenches and memorials (which include monuments to the 51st and 29th Divisions), the park is famed also for the Danger Tree, a trunk skeleton marking the spot where casualties were highest on July 1.

[edit] History

On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I, 801 soldiers of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment rose from the British trenches and went into battle at Beaumont-Hamel, nine kilometers north of Albert in France. After only 30 minutes the regiment was devastated. Only 69 men stood to answer the regimental role call the next morning. 255 were dead, 386 were wounded, and 91 were listed as missing in action and presumed dead. Every officer who had gone over the top was either wounded or dead.

Present day site

On the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army (57,470 casualties, 19,240 dead) at the opening of the largest battle (over one million casualties) of the war, Newfoundland had also suffered its gravest military loss. To this day, Beaumont-Hamel remains the most significant single military action fought by Newfoundlanders and a turning point in the history and culture of the island. Many Newfoundlanders mark the date of July 1st not as Canada Day, but as Memorial Day, the date of remembrance for the Beaumont-Hamel battle.

Newfoundlanders remember this day with bittersweet emotion. Beaumont-Hamel is a prime example of the use of manpower as cannon fodder during the Great War. While technological advances had changed the face of weaponry, the tactics of the day were still rooted in 19th century military dogma.

[edit] Honours

In November of 1916 His Majesty King George V granted the title "Royal" to the Newfoundland Regiment. No other regiment in the British Empire was awarded this signal honours, in the two years of brutal fighting which continued before the end of World War I on Armistice Day (November 11, 1918 on the Western Front.)

[edit] Visitors' Information

There is a Visitors' Centre which exhibits the historical and social circumstances of Newfoundland at the beginning of the 20th century, traces the history of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and some of its personalities. A Memorial room within the Centre houses a copy of the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance, along with a bronze plaque listing the Battle Honours won by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and paying tribute to its fallen. The Visitors' Centre, which also incorporates the administrative offices and site archive, is manned by Canadian student guides who are available to assist visitors and provide guided tours. Site grounds are open at all times. The pathway to the caribou memorial and the memorial itself are lit in the evening until 23:00.

Visitor Centre and Guided Tours:

May 1st - October 31st (10:00 - 18:00)

November 1st - April 30th (09:00 - 17:00)

[edit] Quotations

"It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valour, and its assault only failed of success because dead men can advance no further." — Major-General Sir Beauvoir de Lisle, Commander of the British 29th Division on the 1st Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel