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Primary sourcePhotograph

War Memorial for Newfoundland Soldiers at Beaumont-Hamel

Ch. Biard

A photograph of the Newfoundland caribou memorial at Beaumont-Hamel with Haig present at its unveiling ceremony.

Haig attended this memorial for soldiers lost on the first day of the Somme offensive he commanded.

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Black and white photograph of the Newfoundland caribou war memorial at Beaumont Hamel, France. A bronze-like caribou with antlers is draped with a flag atop a rocky stone outcrop. Several uniformed military men and a cleric in a cassock stand on the rocks below, with a man in a suit and a man in a pale sun hat at left.
Ch. Biard, War Memorial for Newfoundland Soldiers, Beaumont-Hamel, France. National Library of Scotland, Haig collection.

About this source

What it is

This photograph by Ch. Biard shows the caribou war memorial at Beaumont-Hamel, France, sculpted by Basil Gotto and dedicated to Newfoundland soldiers killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Standing below the caribou are Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig and French General Marie Fayolle, while Colonial Secretary John R. Bennett speaks.

Why it matters

The memorial marks the heavy losses suffered by the Newfoundland Regiment on 1 July 1916, during the opening of the Somme offensive that Haig commanded. Haig's presence at the ceremony shows how the war's commanders took part in memorialising the dead, connecting military leadership to public commemoration.

Look closer

  • Why might Haig have attended this memorial ceremony?
  • What does the choice of a caribou, rather than a human figure, suggest about Newfoundland's identity?
  • What does the photograph not tell you about the losses the memorial commemorates?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Field Marshal Douglas Haig on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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