| Commemoration Day | |
 poppy worn on lapel |
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| Official name | Commemoration Day |
|---|---|
| Observed by | Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada) |
| Significance | Commemorates Newfoundland war dead |
| Date | 1 July |
| Observances | Parades, silences |
Memorial Day is the popular but incorrectly used term to refer to a day set aside in 1917 to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces of the then-Dominion of Newfoundland.
The correct name is Commemoration Day, as set down in an act of the Dominion legislature. The day to be observed is established as the Sunday preceding July 1.
In practice, Commemoration Day has been observed concurrently with Canada's national holiday, Canada Day. It recalls the losses at Beaumont Hamel during the opening day of the Battle of the Somme (July 1, 1916).
The symbol of remembrance for the day is the Forget-Me-Not.
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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
Notes
- ^ Castell pp. 153–156 [Newfoundland's Position and War Policy — 1915]
- ^ Nicholson pp. 155–192
- ^ Nicholson p. 480
- ^ Nicholson p. 268
- ^ a b c Nicholson p. 274
- ^ [http://www.town.paradise.nf.ca/CanadaDayCelebrations.htm 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.
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