Spaniard's Bay to mark Memorial Day on Sunday
The Town of Spaniard’s Bay will hold a Memorial Day service on Sunday to mark the sacrifices of veterans and their families, and to especially honour the soldiers lost during the First World War.
The service will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, June 30 at the town’s war memorial.
While July 1 is marked as Canada Day across the country, in Newfoundland it is also commemorated as Memorial Day to honour the soldiers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who fought at Beaumont Hamel on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme.
Some 57,000 of the British and Commonwealth countries’ 650,000 casualties during the four-and-a-half-month-long campaign occurred on the opening day of the battle, July 1, 1916. Of the 800 Newfoundlanders who fought at Beaumont Hamel that day, only 68 were available to report for duty the next day, with the others killed, wounded, captured, or missing in action. “The dead included 14 sets of brothers, including four lieutenants from the Ayre family of St. John's,” according to Veterans Canada.
The campaign lasted until November 13 that year as the British, which included Newfoundland and Commonwealth soldiers, and the French tried to push the Germans back from entrenched positions along a 24 km line extending from Beaumont Hamel to Maricourt.
The Spaniard’s Bay war memorial is located on Conception Bay Highway next to Winner's Circle Sports Pub & Eatery. Deputy Mayor Tammy Oliver noted there will not be a parade this year. "We all have aging veterans and stuff now, so it's just meet at the war memorial," she said.
Meanwhile, council is also making plans to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Newfoundland joining Canada.
At council’s June 11 meeting, Oliver noted the Town was successful in obtaining a grant to celebrate the anniversary of Confederation. Council and staff will host a celebration tea in the Avalon room of the Town Hall on Sunday, July 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. It will be a free event.
Finally, council also took a few moments at this month’s meeting to congratulate students on their accomplishments as their school year ends.
“A lot of them are getting hired for the summer, so that's great,” said Councillor Eric Jewer. Councillor Paul Ryan noted the students, specifically those from Holy Redeemer, who had to relocate after their school was closed earlier this year due to a chemical leak, made the best of a bad situation. He added his congratulations and told students to be safe.
Councillor Debbie Newman expressed a similar sentiment. "I'd just like to wish all the students a safe and happy summer," she said.
Olivia Bradbury, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Shoreline News
