Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! Good to see you on this auspicious but rainy, day...at least it is here. Glad you could make it. Help yourself to a mug of coffee and a special red and white cupcake, why don't'cha? Today is time for Canadians to celebrate across the nation. If you’re not Canadian, find one and celebrate anyway!

Canada Day celebrates the birth of Canada, when it became a new federation on July 1, 1867, with the signing of the Constitution Act (also known as the British North America Act). 

Many Canadians might not know that it is also Memorial Day in Newfoundland and Labrador.  Memorial Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces of the now Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed along with Canada's national holiday, Canada Day. Memorial Day is observed on 1 July to recall the losses of Dominion of Newfoundland at Beaumont-Hamel during the Battle of the Somme of the First World War and has been observed annually since 1917.

During the First World War Newfoundland was a Dominion of the British Empire with a population of 240,000, and not yet part of Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador did not join Canada until 1949 when it became the nation’s 10^th province.

The Royal Newfoundland Regiment was deployed at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli peninsula with the 29th British Division in support of the Gallipoli Campaign. With the close of the Gallipoli Campaign the regiment spent a short period recuperating before being transferred to the Western Front in March 1916. In France, the regiment regained battalion strength in preparation for the Battle of the Somme.

The infantry assault began on July 1, 1916 and at 8:45 a.m. the Newfoundland Regiment and 1st Battalion of the Essex Regiment received orders to move forward. So far as can be ascertained, 22 officers and 758 other ranks were directly involved in the advance. Of these, all the officers and slightly under 658 other ranks became casualties. Of the 780 men who went forward only about 110 survived unscathed, of whom only 68 were available for roll call the following day.

For all intents and purposes the Newfoundland Regiment had been wiped out, the unit as a whole having suffered a casualty rate of approximately 90%.

Enjoy your day and your memories!

See ya, eh!

Bob