A delegation from Newfoundland and Labrador is in France today for a formal ceremony tomorrow at Beaumont Hamel to mark the start of a journey that will bring an unknown Newfoundland and Labrador soldier back home.
Another picture of #RNFLDRFamily members including Regimental CO Kyle Strong taken in Monchy-le-Preux following a Remembrance ceremony #OPDISTINCTION pic.twitter.com/j1sPwhA6eF
— The Royal Newfoundland Regiment Family (@RNFLDRFamily) May 24, 2024
MP Seamus O’Regan is among a large number of dignitaries who will accompany the remains back to Newfoundland, where they will be interred in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial on Duckworth Street.
A repatriation ceremony takes place tomorrow at Beaumont Hamel before the remains are flown to St. John’s where they are scheduled to arrive at 7:10 tomorrow evening followed by a procession through the capital city.
O’Regan calls it a rare and solemn event.
“This is a very rare thing,” O’Regan told VOCM Open Line with Paddy Daly from France, “where remains are exhumed from the place where that soldier fell.” He says it follows the tradition of many other countries including England, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, “and now us.”
O’Regan commended the work of field teams who work swiftly and in secrecy to identify the remains as those of a Newfoundland soldier and protect them from looters.
“Unfortunately, looters are still a big thing here” says O’Regan. “so, you know, they have to be very careful about remains, when they discover new remains. The work that they do is very secretive, in fact, the group that we met with, if there’s construction being done, or if a farmer finds remains or whatever, they have to be there within two hours and they find and recover those remains before nightfall, or they may lose them because of looting.”
Casket to be draped with Canadian flag
Meanwhile, some are asking about the Canadian flag that will drape the coffin of the Unknown Soldier – as he would have fought for the Newfoundland Regiment decades before Newfoundland entering Confederation with Canada.
Seamus O’Regan says the regiment fought under the Newfoundland Red Ensign, which will fly during ceremonies today and tomorrow.
The Newfoundland Red Ensign – the flag they fought under.
This one flies high today at Beaumont Hamel.
And it will follow our Unknown Soldier home, to be folded and placed on his coffin. pic.twitter.com/omK7C9vq1v
— Seamus O'Regan Jr (@SeamusORegan) May 24, 2024
“And that Red Ensign will be folded and placed on the coffin of the Unknown Soldier and will follow the Unknown Soldier as he his repatriated and brought home. So, that is something that we have worked with the Legion on, both for its historic accuracy, and because it’s the right thing to do.”
When the call came, brave young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians roughly the same age as my children signed up to fight for our freedoms in WWI. Too many mothers were never able to lay their sons to rest. Now, we have the overwhelming honour of bringing one of them home. pic.twitter.com/5lJ5Mfaab9
— Premier of NL (@PremierofNL) May 24, 2024
