A Moment of Remembrance!

As my Mediterranean comes to an end, one of the last things on my "wish list" to do was to return to Gallipoli which I had visited as part of a cruise ship shore excursion in 2023.  That tour focussed on Anzac Cove where the Australian and New Zealander troops had landed and it also included visits to Allied and Turkish cemeteries and monuments as well as the museum.  Because of my interest in the Trail of the Caribou (which I have blogged about before), I wanted to see the last of those monuments which was unveiled here in Gallipoli in 2021.  As that shore excursion didn’t include a stop there, I was determined to see it this trip.  From a personal point of view, it was also my way of honouring “the fallen” which is, of course, commemorated on November 11^th. 

So, Monday, we drove from Behramkale to Gallipoli to find the site.  It was a very moving experience for me.  As we drove there, I asked Atahan to play Fanfare for the Common Man which seemed appropriate music to listen to.  

The Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial is located next to Hill 10 Cemetery in the former Sulva Bay sector of the Gallipoli peninsula.  The cemetery is the final resting place for eight Newfoundland Regiment soldiers.  

The Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial is faithful to the design and construction of the other memorial sites honouring Newfoundland soldiers during the First World War.  The bronze caribou is almost 700 kilograms and approximately 2.5 metres high and 3 metres long.  This is the sixth memorial in Europe commemorating the achievements and sacrifices of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War.  The others are located in France and Belgium.  Together, they form what is known as the Trail of the Caribou.  The other five are:  the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, the Gueudecourt Newfoundland Memorial, the Masnières Newfoundland Memorial, the Monchy-le-Preux Newfoundland Memorial, and the Courtrai Newfoundland Memorial.

Historically, after almost a year of training, the Newfoundland Regiment joined the 29th British Division fighting in Gallipoli.  They paused in Egypt for two weeks to acclimatize troops to the weather before arriving in Gallipoli.  1,076 soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment landed at Suvla Bay on the shores of the Dardanelles Strait on 20 September 1915.  It was the only North American unit to participate in this campaign.  Life in the trenches was miserable.  The weather fluctuated from extreme heat that brought swarms of flies that spread disease such as dysentery, to extreme cold causing bad cases of frostbite.  By September 30, the Newfoundland Regiment had taken responsibility for a 1.5-kilometre stretch of the British front line.  Its trenches lay just 50 metres from the Turkish lines.  There, the trenches stuck out at an angle which exposed the soldiers to enemy fire from two sides. 

Despite the difficult conditions, the Newfoundlanders earned their first battle honour when they captured Caribou Hill in November 1915.  The Newfoundland Regiment covered the evacuation of Allied troops when the campaign came to an end.  Its members were among the last to leave Gallipoli in January 1916.  The campaign took a heavy toll on the Newfoundlanders.  Some 22 soldiers were killed in action, eight died of wounds and ten died of disease.  Another 80 Newfoundland Regiment soldiers were wounded.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Advisory Council and the College of the North Atlantic partnered to create the Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial.  It was completed and installed on the site in April 2021.  As such, it now completes the Trail of the Caribou.

And, there is an addendum to this.  On September 28^th, 2023, Turkish soldiers who died fighting in the Gallipoli Peninsula more than a century ago were honoured with the unveiling of a monument in Newfoundland.  This monument to the Martyrs of Gallipoli, who, like members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, laid down their lives for freedom during the First World War, now stands at the Trail of the Caribou Memorial Park beside Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John’s.  The installation of the Turkish monument completes a reciprocal agreement between Newfoundland and Labrador and the Republic of Türkiye, which included the unveiling of the sixth and final statue on the Trail of the Caribou in Gallipoli in September 2022.  The front of the monument features the undulating Turkish flag.  References to the topography of the region and poppies appear toward the pedestal of the monument, and a shape resembling an open window at the top symbolizes a horizon and a road of peace and friendship between Gallipoli and St. John’s.  This monument was part of the reciprocal agreement in return for the installation of the caribou memorial on Turkish soil.

Lest We Forget!