The Battle
of the Somme
and the Newfoundlanders
Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
- 1STJULY
- 16HECTARES
- 86%WORKFORCE DEAD
Vestige
of a battlefield
From the memorials to the 29th British Division and the 51st Scottish Division, to Caribou Mound, where the names of 820 Newfoundlanders who gave their lives in the First World War and whose burial places are unknown, the park is both a place of commemoration and a moving journey of understanding of the battleaccessible to all history buffs.
The Newfoundland Park is also one of the few sites where you can see a Great War battlefield in its original state: communication trenches, battlefields and shell holes give us a moving and realistic view of the battles.
Les Terres-Neuviens
in the Great War
During the Great War, Newfoundland was a British colony and raised a volunteer army. More than 6,000 volunteers served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and 1,305 fell during the conflict.
At 9.15am on July 1, 1916, the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme, the men of the Newfoundland Regiment launched an assault on enemy lines, only to find themselves under German machine-gun fire. Half an hour later, 86% of the men were dead, wounded or missing.
Proportional to the number of troops involved, this was one of the deadliest actions of the Somme offensive.
From February to mid-December, student guides offer free guided tours in French and English.
A visitor center at the entrance to the park completes the visit. A permanent exhibition traces the history of the Royal Newfoudland Regiment from its creation in 1914 to the end of the war.
A battlefield
unique
The 16-hectare Parc Terre Neuvien can be explored on foot. Once you’ve visited the visitor center, the battlefield, whose ground still bears the scars of war, is revealed.
The tour begins at the monument to the 29th Division, to which the Newfoundland Regiment belonged. The path then leads to the Caribou Mound , insignia of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. It’s a must-see view of the battlefields and the ideal place to understand the organization of the trench system!
At its foot are three bronze plaques that serve as the National Memorial to the Missing, listing the names of the 821 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve and the Merchant Navy who gave their lives in the First World War and whose final resting places remain unknown.
At the center of no-man’s-land lies the skeleton of theDanger Tree, so nicknamed by the troops because it was located in an area where enemy fire was particularly intense. For many, this was the furthest point reached during the assault.
Continuing along the path brings you close to the German lines and the site’s three cemeteries: Y Ravine Cemetery, Hawthorn Ridge Cemetery n°2 and Hunter’s Cemetery.
Tribute to
Scottish soldiers
On November 13, 1916, four and a half months after the start of the assault, the 51st Highland Division finally succeeded in taking the German trenches.
A memorial representing a Scottish soldier, the “Gordon Highlander”, pays tribute to them. It overlooks the Y ravine he retook. On its base is an inscription in English and Gaelic: “Friends are precious on the day of battle”.
The sculptor, Georges Henry Paulin, used Sergeant Major Bob Rowan of the Glasgow Highlanders as his model.
Useful links
Where to eat?
Restaurant Le Poppy in Ovillers-la-Boisselle
Old Blighty” tea room in Ovillers-la-Boisselle
