Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development
June 30, 2015
Honouring our Veterans and Heritage
Provincial Delegation Visits Beaumont-Hamel in Annual Pilgrimage
The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development, will join a delegation from Newfoundland and Labrador including veterans, Royal Canadian Legion members and students to attend a ceremony at Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont-Hamel in France tomorrow (Wednesday, July 1). The ceremony which will commemorate the beginning of the Battle of the Somme is part of a week-long pilgrimage to First World War commemoration sites in Belgium and France.
“July 1 is a day of commemoration and mourning in our province. It is a day we remember those who gave so much for peace and freedom for families and communities in Europe and at home. I am honoured to be with this group representing Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as we travel the Trail of the Caribou. It is a trip of commemoration and remembrance, but also a trip of discovery for the large group of students travelling with us. I know this will prove a memorable and humbling experience for us all. At tomorrow’s ceremony, I will lay a wreath at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial on behalf of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, in a tribute to the fallen.”
- The Honourable Darin King, Minister of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development
For more than 15 years, the Provincial Government has supported the Royal Canadian Legion Newfoundland and Labrador Command’s annual pilgrimage of students, veterans and legionnaires to memorials in France and Belgium. The trip is organized around the Trail of the Caribou that includes remembrance ceremonies at Beaumont-Hamel, Masnières, Gueudecourt, Monchy-le-Preux, and Courtrai (Kortrijk), Belgium. Also included are stops at various points of interest to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and an opportunity to lay a wreath at Menin Gate in Ieper, Belgium.
As well, the delegation will visit the D’Hondt Family farm near Ledegem, Belgium, the site where the heroic actions of Private Thomas Ricketts earned him a Victoria Cross.
Thirty-five students are participating in the trip, including 19 students taking part in the Ambassador Program, an award that recognizes excellence in student projects commemorating the men and women who served in the First World War.
“This trip to France means so much to me because I get the chance to see, to learn and to better understand the hardships of the First World War. This will be a trip that I will forever keep with me.”
- Wyatt Higdon, Ambassador from Crescent Collegiate
The 2015 pilgrimage is part of the Honour 100 initiative to commemorate Newfoundland and Labrador’s First World War story. The Provincial Government will invest more than $3 million in Honour 100, which will include funding for multiple community-based activities.
QUICK FACTS:
- A Newfoundland and Labrador delegation including veterans, Royal Canadian Legion members and students, will attend a ceremony at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France tomorrow (Wednesday, July 1.)
- The annual ceremony commemorates the beginning of the Battle of the Somme and is part of a week-long pilgrimage to First World War commemoration sites in Belgium and France.
- Thirty-five students will take part, including 19 students participating in the new Ambassador Program, recognizing excellence in student projects commemorating men and women who served in the First World War.
- For more than 15 years, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has provided the Royal Canadian Legion Newfoundland and Labrador Command annual support for students, veterans and legionnaires to take part in the annual Trail of the Caribou pilgrimage.
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Media contact:
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Tansy Mundon Director of Communications Department of Business, Tourism, Culture and Rural Development 709-729-4570, 693-1865 tansymundon@gov.nl.ca |
2015 06 30 9:45 a.m.