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Beaumont-Hamel and the Newfoundland Regiment

Written by Mike
Beaumont-Hamel from the south. The village is situated in a slight valley and became one of the German fortresses on this part of the Western Front. The German lines ran from the centre left of the picture to the top centre, traces of the lines being visible as lighter patches on the ground. 13 March 1993. (Ref 93/102/30) Beaumont-Hamel from the south. The village is situated in a slight valley and became one of the German fortresses on this part of the Western Front. The German lines ran from the centre left of the picture to the top centre, traces of the lines being visible as lighter patches on the ground. 13 March 1993. (Ref 93/102/30)

Beaumont-Hamel is inextricably linked with the fate of the Newfoundland Regiment following their huge losses on 1 July 1916.

At the start of the war in 1914, Newfoundland did not have an army.  In the patriotic fever of the time the Governor started a campaign that resulted in over 1,000 volunteers coming forward, many more than expected and sufficient to form a complete Newfoundland Battalion.

Just one month after the Governor’s campaign started the 1st Newfoundland Battalion was ready to sail.

On arriving in Britain they went north to Scotland to train, eventually arriving in France a year and a half later to join their place in the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916 at Beaumont-Hamel.

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Mike

Mike

Mike McCormac has been a photographer since about ten years old.  He's a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, and lives in a village in the hills near Paphos in Cyprus.

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