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    I Remain, Your Loving Son: Intimate Stories of Beaumont-Hamel
    I Remain, Your Loving Son: Intimate Stories of Beaumont-Hamel
    I Remain, Your Loving Son: Intimate Stories of Beaumont-Hamel
    Ebook164 pages1 hour

    I Remain, Your Loving Son: Intimate Stories of Beaumont-Hamel

    By Frances Ennis and Bob Wakeham

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    About this ebook

    History has told us in unambiguous terms that the statistics from July 1, 1916, were grim and shocking. Most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can recite the facts on cue: 801 men went “over the top” at Beaumont-Hamel, France; all but sixty-eight were either killed or wounded.

    Another number, startling as well: thirty, as in thirty minutes, a half-hour. That’s how long it took for German machine gunners to virtually wipe out the Newfoundland Regiment, from 9:15 on that sunny Saturday morning to 9:45. The bloodletting was halted because, in the words of one officer at the time, “Dead men cannot advance any further.”

    Inside these covers you will find deeply personal stories of Beaumont-Hamel, told by the soldiers themselves and their relatives back home, by their descendants, and by others who have found distinctive ways of bringing an intimate touch to what is sometimes described as the saddest day in Newfoundland and Labrador history.

    The transcripts of two documentaries produced by Bob Wakeham and Bill Coultas, a series of poems by Frances Ennis, and hooked rugs created by the Holy Heart of Mary Alumnae Choir form the content of this unique tribute to those who died at Beaumont-Hamel.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFlanker Press
    Release dateSep 22, 2017
    ISBN9781771175692
    I Remain, Your Loving Son: Intimate Stories of Beaumont-Hamel
    Author

    Frances Ennis

    Frances Ennis has been a community worker as an adult education, program coordinator, evaluator, and researcher and writer for most of her adult life. She worked with the federal government for eleven years and, before that, with organizations whose mandates focused on health education, adult literacy, social justice, and women’s equality. Frances was co-founder of the first community-based adult literacy program in the province. She is a recipient of the Muriel Duckworth Award for participatory research, the Governor General’s Award in honour of the Person’s Case, and the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador. She has co-authored, edited, and/or produced books and training manuals for adult literacy work. As a current textile artist, Frances has participated in provincial, national, and international exhibits. She helped to initiate and facilitate several large group rug hooking projects that produced one-of-a-kind rugs, books about the rugs and stories they depict, and exhibitions, one of which travelled to Ireland. Frances and husband Bill Coultas live in St. John’s. They are proud parents of three lovely daughters—Sheila, Laura, and Jennifer—and they have a very special granddaughter, Abbegayle.

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      Book preview

      I Remain, Your Loving Son - Frances Ennis

      Flanker Press Limited

      St. John’s

      Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

      Ennis, Frances; Wakeham, Bob

      I Remain, Your Loving Son: Intimate Stories of Beaumont-Hamel

      Issued in print and electronic formats.

      ISBN 978-1-77117-568-5 (pbk.).--ISBN 978-1-77117-569-2 (epub).--

      ISBN 978-1-77117-570-8 (kindle).--ISBN 978-1-77117-571-5 (pdf)

      A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from Library and Archives Canada.

      ————————————————————————————————————

      © 2017 by Frances Ennis, Bob Wakeham

      All Rights Reserved. No part of the work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without the written permission of the publisher. Any request for photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems of any part of this book shall be directed to Access Copyright, The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency, 1 Yonge Street, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M5E 1E5. This applies to classroom use as well.

      Printed in Canada

      Cover Design by Graham Blair

      Flanker Press Ltd.

      PO Box 2522, Station C

      St. John’s, NL

      Canada

      Telephone: (709) 739-4477 Fax: (709) 739-4420 Toll-free: 1-866-739-4420

      www.flankerpress.com

      9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested $157 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien. L’an dernier, le Conseil a investi 157 millions de dollars pour mettre de l’art dans la vie des Canadiennes et des Canadiens de tout le pays.

      CONTENTS

      One: I Remain, Your Loving Son

      Enlistment the great adventure

      Training in Europe we are Newfoundlanders

      The Gallipoli Campaign buried under a big oak tree

      France cold and hungry and dirty

      Final Preparations the great push

      July 1, 1916 a butcher shop in hell

      Aftermath a little simple prayer

      The Final Letters God bless you, my son

      Two: Remembering with Rugs

      A View of Peace Elizabeth (Duggan) Matthews

      The Caribou Maxine Ennis

      Remember Me Michelle Sullivan

      My Mother Sheila Feaver and Diane McDonald

      My Boy Sheila Feaver and Diane McDonald

      A Pair of Grey Socks Shirley Moss, Moya O’Neill, and Brenda Wolfe

      No Man’s Land Glenda Bursey and Janet Lacey

      The Danger Tree Noreen Grace

      The Danger Tree Jo-Ann Clarke, Madonna Cole, and Donna Evans

      Hope Anne LeMessurier Lilly

      Known Unto God Mary Anne Murphy

      Forget Me Not Anne Donnelly

      Lest We Forget Sandy E. (Rowe) Nixon

      Between the Crosses Sheila Hynes (1944–2013)

      Though Poppies Grow Moya O’Neill and Brenda Wolfe

      Letters in the Kettle Patricia Greene

      A Tribute to My Grandfather Gerri Fleming

      Honour Marilyn Cameron, Barbara O’Keefe, and Sheila Power

      Victory Medal Helen Handrigan

      Newfoundland Regiment Cap Badge WWI Geraldine Sinnott

      Royal Newfoundland Regiment Badge Bridget Woodrow

      Regimental Colours Anne Marie Whelan

      Newfoundland Dog Pat Edney and Sheila Feaver

      What a March that Was Frances Ennis and Mary Anne Murphy

      The Last Goodbye Tina Murphy

      Three: Reflections at Beaumont-Hamel

      Nurturer

      Sounds

      Tin Triangle

      St. John’s Road Trench

      Whose Turn?

      Today

      Lost

      Unknown Soldier

      Related

      The Danger Tree

      Beaumont

      Hamel

      Rest in Peace

      Day is Ended

      Why?

      Four: Descendants – The Past is Cast

      on a journey

      it was a telegram that came

      he didn’t want me to ever forget

      Acknowledgements

      Dedicated to

      Norm Coultas, Joe Judge, Will Knight, and their comrades

      Introduction

      History has told us in unambiguous terms that the statistics from July 1, 1916, were grim and shocking.

      Most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can recite the numerical facts on cue: 801 men went over the top at Beaumont-Hamel, France; all but sixty-eight were either killed or wounded.

      Another number, startling, as well: thirty, as in thirty minutes, a half-hour. That’s how long it took for German machine gunners to virtually wipe out the Newfoundland Regiment, from 9:15 on that sunny Saturday morning to 9:45. The bloodletting was halted because, in the words of one officer at the time, Dead men cannot advance any further.

      Inside these covers you will find deeply personal stories of Beaumont-Hamel, told by the soldiers themselves and their relatives back home, by their descendants, and others who have found distinctive ways of bringing an intimate touch to what is sometimes described as the saddest day in Newfoundland history.

      The transcripts of two documentaries produced over a decade apart by Bob Wakeham and Bill Coultas, a series of poems by Frances Ennis, and hooked rugs created by members of the Holy Heart of Mary Alumnae Choir form the content of this unique consideration of Beaumont-Hamel.

      I Remain, Your Loving Son first aired in 2000 and used letters, diaries, memoirs, and other material written by soldiers, and their loved ones, to bring a first-hand account of Beaumont-Hamel to national audiences. Renowned television critic John Doyle of the Globe and Mail described the documentary as a heart-scalding film.

      The creators of Remembering with Rugs used the traditional craft of rug hooking to bring a woman’s perspective to Beaumont-Hamel and war in general. The project was initiated as part of a fundraising effort by the Holy Heart of Mary Alumnae Choir to help finance a trip to Europe that included emotional performances by the choir at Beaumont-Hamel and Vimy Ridge on July 1, 2008.

      Reflections at Beaumont-Hamel are the poems of social activist and writer Frances Ennis, prompted by a visit to the battlefield in 1997, a visit that inspired the words but, as she put it, often felt as though they came from the many young men whose lives were cut far too short in that very place.

      Finally, Descendants – The Past is Cast is a documentary produced in 2016 during the hundredth anniversary of Beaumont-Hamel. The documentary included interviews with a number of direct descendants of members of the Newfoundland Regiment. These descendants are participants in a sculpture by artist Morgan MacDonald which will incorporate 100 bronzed faces of relatives of Beaumont-Hamel soldiers.

      All four literary and visual components in this book—the documentaries, the poems, the hooked rugs (and accompanying narratives)—have as their common thread the tragedy of Beaumont-Hamel. Hopefully, it will be a visceral reminder of the bravery of Newfoundland Regiment soldiers, the resilience and steadfast love of their relatives, and

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