Remembering the Newfoundland Regiment

Beaumont-Hamel - July 1, 1916

A special thanks to the Downhome Magazine for remembering on many occasions, the men who lost their lives in the First World War. My Uncle John Crocker from Heart's Delight, Trinity Bay, my father's brother, joined the Newfoundland Regiment at the age of 17 and was one of the many Newfoundlanders who gave the greatest sacrifice at Beaumont-Hamel in France, on July 1, 1916. The picture is of him and his older brother Will, who I assume went to war also as he is in the same uniform, but returned unharmed (at least physically).

Unfortunately, this was not the only tragedy of the war. Upon hearing of her son's death, my grandmother and a younger brother, Uncle Luke, did not recover from the shock and became ill sometime after hearing that he would not be coming home, and died (of a broken heart?), so the story has been passed down through the generations. Therefore, we as a family lost a grandmother and two uncles who we never knew as we were growing up. My brother and sister-in-law went to France some years ago and took pictures of the area, the bronze caribou, and the engraving of our uncle's name on the great wall there.

I have seen pictures of the Regiment, but with no names listed, so I am wondering if there is one in a war museum in NL somewhere, with names, so that I can recognize my uncle, where I can visit next time we are in NL.

Not a Remembrance Day goes by that I don't remember my uncle, who I never knew, but who gave the supreme sacrifice almost 100 years ago. WAR! What tragedies for families, and we still haven't learned a lesson from these. May God bless all the mothers and fathers and families who have lost loved ones this Remembrance Day, November 11, 2010.

Phyllis Barrett
Nee Crocker   Submitted By: NULL