Stopped off at the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel in the Somme region of France, infamous for the tragic loss of life of many thousands in the First World War. This image shows the preserved battle field on which the 29th Division, containing the Newfoundlanders (then still part of Great Britain), fought the German opposition. If ever in the area it is definitely worth the free guided tour, fortunately/unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) it was very cold (5C or so) and raining when I was there, the advantage being I got a very good account from the guide of everything that happened on the battle field. We’re all taught about war in school and told this and that happened but until you actually see where it all took place, you never really appreciate it or properly take it in. Books with dry text accompanying old black and white photos really made me go off history as a subject (was not well presented to keep my attention!) but seeing this place made something click. Although time has taken its toll on the trenches since the war, erosion and people clambering over them etc., its is still possible to see the Allied front-line and communication trenches in the foreground of the image (running lower right to middle left). The German front-line lay roughly along the edge of the trees at the far end of the field as it stands today, these would not have been here during the war and primarily serve to indicate certain boundaries. Hard to imagine what they went through being there was roughly only 200m or less that separated these two forces. Unfortunately for the Allies the Germans had many advantages, thanks in part to their preparation and also their choice of location to make a stand along the ridge of a Y-shaped valley, which provided shelter and regular supplies of munitions and food. The Allies were up against it before they even went over the top but when the order came for the Newfoundlanders to head over the top they kept on moving despite the overwhelming odds and circumstances. The characteristic of the Newfoundlanders to commit and carry out their orders with utter dependency earned their regiment the status of ‘Royal’ Newfoundland Regiment. For a more accurate description of what happened read on…