Lest We Forget

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July 1, 1916 was the first day of WWI's Battle of the Somme. Among the soldiers fighting at Beaumont Hamel, France, were members of the Newfoundland Regiment (now the Royal Newfoundland Regiment). The battle at Beaumont Hamel was an unmitigated disaster: as per their orders, the Newfoundlanders advanced into a blizzard of enemy fire and within half an hour the Regiment was virtually wiped out. Out of the 801 men who went into battle, 710 were killed, wounded, or missing. One of the dead was 20-year-old Lance Corporal Arthur James Rendell, my father's uncle. My maternal grandfather was also a member of the Regiment. He was wounded at Gallipoli and therefore did not fight at Beaumont Hamel; if he had, I probably wouldn’t be here.

July 1, celebrated as Canada Day in the rest of the country, has a rather different meaning in Newfoundland.

This Canada Day marks the 90th anniversary of Beaumont Hamel and the soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment are being remembered at a ceremony at the National War Memorial here in Ottawa. For the first time in history, the Newfoundland flag will be flown at the Memorial. My choir, Atlantic Voices: The Newfoundland and Labrador Choir of Ottawa, has been asked to sing the O Canada, God Save the Queen, and Ode to Newfoundland, Newfoundland’s "national anthem". The service starts at 8:30 am and will be televised nationally on CBC and CTV. I'll be the short redhead wibbling in the front row.