The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Receives National Historic Site Designation

On April 10, 1997, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Battlefield and Memorial in France was designated a Canadian National Historic Site by the then Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps. Beaumont-Hamel is commemorated by means of a plaque because of its national historic and architectural significance. A ceremony to unveil the national historic site plaque took place at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial located near Albert, France on Saturday, November 8, 1997.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recommended that the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial be designated a national historic site because Newfoundland's accomplishment, contribution and sacrifice in the First World War are themselves of major national importance. The loss of Newfoundlanders in the First World War had a profound impact on the colony. Moreover, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial speaks eloquently to the bravery and sacrifice of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, and it memorializes Newfoundlanders lost in the conflict who have no known grave.

The Statement of Commemorative Integrity developed by the Commemorative Integrity research team:

Canada commemorates at the site of the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial:

• the battlefield of Beaumont-Hamel over which Newfoundlanders fought on the first of July 1916;
• the courage and sacrifice of members of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment on the first of July 1916;
• the contribution of members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Royal Naval Reserve, and the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine in the First World War;
• the remembrance of the members of the Newfoundland forces and the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine who lost their lives as a result of military action in the First World War, and whose graves are unknown;
• the impact of the First World War on the Dominion of Newfoundland and Canada; and
• the design and intent of the original plan for the Memorial site including the monument and associated landscapes.

Beaumont-Hamel Plaque