Newfoundland National War Memorial, St. John's

History information

On 25 May 2024 the remains of an unidentified Newfoundland soldier of the First World War were entrusted to Canada at a ceremony held at Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, France. The remains had previously been exhumed from Cagnicourt British Cemetery.

Following the ceremony, the remains were repatriated to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. From 28 to 30 June 2024, they lay in state at Confederation Building in St. John’s. Thousands of visitors paid their respects prior to the official reburial ceremony, which was held on 1 July. 1 July, the anniversary of the opening of the Battle of the Somme, is marked annually in Newfoundland and Labrador as Memorial Day.

The remains were laid to rest in a sarcophagus placed at the foot of the Newfoundland National War Memorial. The memorial was unveiled in 1924 by Field Marshal Lord Douglas Haig, wartime commander of the British Expeditionary Force in France, and has four bronze sculptures commemorating the service of the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, the Forestry Corps, the Mercantile Marine, and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. They surround a female allegorical sculpture that looks out to the harbour, holding a torch to symbolize freedom and a sword to represent the willingness of Newfoundland to serve in wartime.

Although part of Canada since 1949, at the time of the First World War Newfoundland was an independent Dominion of the British Empire and the soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment served as a distinct national contingent.

The sarcophagus was carved from black granite and is topped with a cover of Labrador granite. The cover is topped with a bouquet of bronze forget-me-nots, a symbol of remembrance in Newfoundland. The sarcophagus is inscribed with the provincial coat of arms and the words:

KNOWN UNTO GOD

CONNU DE DIEU SEUL