On this Memorial Day in Newfoundland and Labrador officials are marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.
On the morning of July 1st, 1916 hundreds of Newfoundlanders prepared for battle in the trenches of World War I. By the next day almost all of them would be gone.
The first day of the Battle of the Somme was devastating for the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel.
Nearly 800 people were involved in the advance that morning. However, they were met with waves of bullets from the opposing forces. The next day, only 68 answered the role call.
(VOCM News)
Military historian and author Gary Brown calls July 1st, 1916 the “darkest day in the history of the British army,” noting that over 18,500 soldiers were killed in total on that day.
He says it was a “brave fight, but a catastrophic battle.”
Various Memorial Day services are taking place across the province today.
In St. John’s, a Memorial Day parade beginning at the Sergeant’s Memorial on Queen’s Road will end with a ceremony at the National War Memorial beginning at 10:55 a.m.
