Lest We Forget 2016

[making_art]

Remembering a small number of lives lost on July 1, 1916
Beaumont Hamel: July 1, 1916

Beaumont-Hamel front line seared the collective consciousness of Newfoundlanders. Post war they gathered on the first anniversary of the battle, in Newfoundland and with others in France, to remember the extraordinary devotion and courage of the men who fell there. And so they have gathered since. Within the boundaries of the Memorial Site, close to 1,000 men were killed or died on that one fateful day at the beginning of July 1916. Of these, around 200-300 still lie beneath the green grass and wild flowers that soften the site including many of the 130 or so Newfoundlanders from that fateful advance who have no known grave. So now, as then, it remains a place for respect, for reflection and for pilgrimage.

At the entrance to the site is inscribed in bronze an epitaph composed by John Oxenham:

And with bowed head and heart abased
Strive hard to grasp the future gain in this sore loss.
For not one foot of this dank sod
But drank its surfeit of the blood of gallant men
Who for their Faith, their Hope, for Life and Liberty
Here made the sacrifice.
Here gave their lives, and right willingly for you and me.

Land Battles - The Somme | Canada and the First World War

 

[making_art]

War Memories Across Canada Documentary
War Memories across Canada Documentary War Heritage / Patrimoine de la guerre

Funded by Government of Canada and Royal Roads University, the two-part documentary series comprises 27 short stories exploring sites of memory across the country linked with the First and Second World Wars. Dr. Geoffrey Bird directed and produced the documentary.

The documentary series explores sites of memory that offer insight into our nation?s past. These stories connect and engage us in a new way, looking at the war not from the perspective of battlefields overseas but from places in Canada that were shaped by war. The history is recounted by ?guardians of remembrance,? historians, guides and storytellers who offer insight into what happened and why. The documentary provides a gateway to new insights into the significance of this heritage as well as an opportunity to commemorate this shared national experience.

Episode One: Sites of the First World War Sites of the First World War War Heritage / Patrimoine de la guerre

Episode Two: Sites of the Second World War Sites of the Second World War War Heritage / Patrimoine de la guerre