ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ Day
On July 1, 1916, the First Newfoundland Regiment fought valiantly on the first day of the Battle of the Somme near the village of Beaumont-Hamel in France. The fighting was intense, and the regiment suffered heavy losses. Of the 801 men who entered the fray, only 68 answered the roll call the next morning.
Newfoundland National War ÐÓ°É´«Ã½, downtown St. John’s. Photo: Rich Blenkinsopp
Newfoundland and Labrador has observed ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ Day on July 1 since 1917. Since confederation with Canada, the day commemorates the wartime sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in the First World War and subsequent conflicts.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ Day is held concurrently with the national holiday, Canada Day.
The National War ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ was unveiled in St. John’s on July 1, 1924. It is now a ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ University annual tradition to lay a commemorative wreath at the National War ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ to honour the fallen on ÐÓ°É´«Ã½ Day.