The minister who represented the provincial government in Beaumont Hamel on Memorial Day is reflecting on the profound impact the trip has had on some of the participants.
Fred Hutton was joined by 100 students from across Newfoundland and Labrador, who are in France for the annual Trail of the Caribou Pilgrimage, for a ceremony at the site of the Battle of the Somme.
A memorial to a fallen soldier From St. John’s who fought there. (Fred Hutton)
It was on July 1st, 1916, when the Newfoundland Regiment was nearly wiped out in a clash with German forces.
Hutton says being at the site where so many gave their lives in battle had an impact on the students in attendance.
He says one of the students commented that they had heard the Ode to Newfoundland countless times and never thought much of it. But after hearing it during the ceremony, they will never think of the words the same way again.
The caribou monument at Gueudecourt, France (Fred Hutton)
