Memorial Day (Newfoundland and Labrador)

Memorial Day
poppy worn on lapel
Official name	Memorial Day
Observed by	Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada)
Significance	Commemorates Newfoundland war dead
Date	1 July
Observances	Parades, silences

Memorial Day is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces of the Canadian province Newfoundland and Labrador in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed concurrently 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.

History

During the First World War Newfoundland was a largely rural Dominion of the British Empire with a population of 240,000, and not yet part of Canada.^[1] The Royal Newfoundland Regiment was deployed at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli peninsula with the 29th British Division in support of the Gallipoli Campaign.^[2] With the close of the Gallipoli Campaign the regiment spent a short period recuperating before being transferred to the Western Front in March 1916.^[3] In France, the regiment regained battalion strength in preparation for the Battle of the Somme. The infantry assault was to began on 1 July 1916 and at 8:45 a.m. the Newfoundland Regiment and 1st Battalion of the Essex Regiment received orders to move forward.^[4] So far as can be ascertained, 22 officers and 758 other ranks were directly involved in the advance.^[5] Of these, all the officers and slightly under 658 other ranks became casualties.^[5] Of the 780 men who went forward only about 110 survived unscathed, of whom only 68 were available for roll call the following day.^[5] 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%.

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador will often observe Memorial Day during the morning at the National War Memorial in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and cenotaphs around the province, flying the Union Flag at half staff. In the afternoon and evening they celebrate Canada Day.^[6]

See also

	Holidays portal
	Newfoundland and Labrador portal
	Canadian Armed Forces portal

• Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

Notes

1. ^ Castell pp. 153–156 [Newfoundland's Position and War Policy — 1915]
2. ^ Nicholson pp. 155–192
3. ^ Nicholson p. 480
4. ^ Nicholson p. 268
5. ^ ^{a b c} Nicholson p. 274
6. ^ Canada Day Celebrations

References

• Hopkins, John Castell (1916). The Canadian Annual Review of Public Affairs — 1915. Toronto: Annual Review Publishing Company Limited. 

• Nicholson, Gerald W. L. (1962). Official History of the Canadian Army in the First World War: Canadian Expeditionary Force 1914–1919. Ottawa: Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationary. http://www.dnd.ca/dhh/collections/books/engraph/details_e.asp?BfBookLang=1&BfId=22&cat=7. 

• Nicholson, Gerald W. L. (2006) [1964]. The Fighting Newfoundlander: A History of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Carleton Library; 209 (2nd ed.). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 0773531335.