The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Canada have received approval from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in London on the National War Memorial Centennial Project. A special component of this project is the repatriation of an Unknown First World War Solider from Northern France. This soldier will be re-interred in a specifically designed tomb at the National War Memorial in St. John’s to represent Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who served in all branches of the military.

The National War Memorial Centennial Project was initiated in 2019 as a partnership between the Royal Canadian Legion – Newfoundland and Labrador Command and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. The repatriation of an Unknown Soldier component was spearheaded in 2020 by the Royal Canadian Legion – Newfoundland and Labrador Command.

The National War Memorial Centennial Project will be unveiled on July 1, 2024. More information on the project can be found in the backgrounder below.

Quotes
“It is an honour for the Provincial Government to partner with the Federal Government and the Royal Canadian Legion – Newfoundland and Labrador Command on the National War Memorial Centennial Project. Newfoundland and Labrador is the only province in Canada to have a National War Memorial, and now, we will be the only one to have a dedicated tomb component. This is a reflection of our unique political history and a testament to the important role we had during the World Wars. Today’s announcement is an acknowledgement of Newfoundland and Labrador’s status during the First World War, and the efforts and sacrifices of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”
Honourable Andrew Furey
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador

“This Unknown Soldier will represent all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who fought and died in the First World War. Whoever the Unknown Soldier was, and whatever the Unknown Soldier did, we know he was from Newfoundland and Labrador. Soon he will be back, to rest for all eternity in the place that he called home. I thank the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and The Royal Canadian Legion Provincial Command for their work and support on this remarkable project.”
Honourable Lawrence MacAulay
Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

“The Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial commemorates all those from Newfoundland and Labrador who died in the First World War and who have no known grave. The repatriation of an Unknown Solider represents the service and sacrifice of all of those of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, and the Newfoundland Mercantile Marine. We will always remember and pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and did extraordinary things for our freedom.”
Honourable Steve Crocker
Minister of Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation

“We remember the dead, so that the living may know upon whose shoulders we now stand. We honour the young men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who died on hallowed ground and know no marked resting place – whose families had no grave to visit, no body of their own to bury. The Unknown Soldier being laid to rest here at the National War Memorial in St. John’s will join the statues and stone as an eternal reminder of war’s cost; its casualties; and its heroes.”
The Honourable Seamus O’Regan Jr.
Minister of Labour and MP for St. John’s South-Mount Pearl

“We are proud to have been able to facilitate this exceptional step for the repatriation of a Newfoundland soldier from the Western Front who, though unknown, represents the collective contribution and sacrifice of all those who lost their lives in conflict, from Newfoundland and Labrador, for the freedoms we all enjoy today.”
Claire Horton, CBE
Director General
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

“In 1919, Padre Thomas Nangle of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment had a vision, a dream of a National War Memorial in St. John’s to remember our fallen. Work commenced in 1919 and during this time, he requested the repatriation of an Unknown Soldier to be part of this memorial. The request was never actioned. With this approval to repatriate an Unknown Soldier by Sir Bill Rollo and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for the Rededication in 2024, his vision, his dream will be complete.”
Frank Sullivan
Royal Canadian Legion
Newfoundland and Labrador Command

“The First and Second Battalions of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and the wider Regimental Family are proud that the Unknown Soldier, who honours and represents the service and sacrifice of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, comes from our Regiment and the sacred battlefield of Beaumont Hamel. The Regiment’s sacrifice at Beaumont Hamel was one of the pivotal moments in our province’s long distinguished history of military service. Ours is a history that was born in battle and written in blood. As the current custodians of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, our soldiers today come from across the province and serve in honour of those brave soldiers who went before us. The repatriation of one of our own serves as a poignant reminder of the exceptional sacrifices of all those who serve our nation. Through our Unknown Soldier, we will remember them.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Lawrence Hatfield
Commanding Officer, First and Second Battalions
The Royal Newfoundland Regiment

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Meghan McCabe
Office of the Premier
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Erika Lashbrook Knutson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
erika.lashbrookknutson@veterans.gc.ca

Tina Newhook
Tourism, Culture, Arts and Recreation
709-729-4570, 728-2837
tinanewhook@gov.nl.ca

Daniel Pollak
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Labour
343-551-7558
daniel.pollak@labour-travail.gc.ca

Lewis Brown
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
lewis.brown@cwgc.org

Paul Hillier
Royal Canadian Legion – Newfoundland and Labrador Command
phillier@legionnl.ca

BACKGROUNDER

National War Memorial Centennial Project including Repatriation of an Unknown First World War Soldier from Beaumont-Hamel

Background
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has sought the Government of Canada’s support for the repatriation of an Unknown Newfoundland Soldier from a First World War cemetery in France to St. John’s.

This fallen soldier will symbolically honour Newfoundland and Labrador’s war dead from the years before the province became part of Canada in 1949. The process will be to select this Unknown Soldier, transport the remains home and re-inter him in St. John’s. This is similar to the process followed when Canada established the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa in 2000.

Achievements to Date

• In March 2022, the Honorable Ralph Goodale, High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, on behalf of the Government of Canada, officially requested permission from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to exhume a Newfoundland Unknown Soldier from the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial site.
• On 23 June 2022, CWGC Commissioners approved the Government of Canada’s request.
• The CWGC has conducted initial research and analysis to establish a selection criteria to identify the appropriate grave site.
• Veterans Affairs Canada is working with the CWGC to determine the appropriate cemetery, and ultimately grave, to exhume from. Ground testing of various sites and locations is being undertaken to determine the viability of certain grave sites. This includes understanding whether the ground (graves) has shifted, and if there is indeed one set of remains attached to each headstone. The number of casualties buried more than a century ago is unknown. We need to ensure that exhumation involves a single soldier and that the ability to individually identify him is not present. CWGC will prepare a report related to this work.

Next Steps

• CWGC will determine and identify the chosen gravesite to be exhumed.
• Exhume and repatriate remains to Canada.
• Planning meetings are ongoing between various stakeholders and partners.
• Repatriation of remains from France to Canada.
• The National War Memorial Centennial Project will be unveiled on 1 July 2024. This coincides with the centennial of the Newfoundland National War Memorial, and the 108^th anniversary of the Battles of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

• The Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission was the very first war grave organization. It was created by Royal Charter in 1917 to mark and maintain the graves of members of Commonwealth forces killed in the First World War (and later the Second World War), build memorials to those who have no known grave, and keep records and registers of war dead.
• The Governments of Belgium and France recognize the CWGC as the sole authority charged on behalf of the Commonwealth countries with the permanent care of Commonwealth war cemeteries, graves and memorials.
• The CWGC cares for the graves and memorials of 1.7 million Commonwealth war dead in 150 countries and territories including the cemetery at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France. More than 110,000 of those war dead are Canadians, and Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
• In addition to Canada, the other CWGC member governments are Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.