Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial

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Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial

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The Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial is located next to Hill 10 Cemetery in the former Sulva Bay sector of the Gallipoli peninsula, Türkiye. The cemetery is the final resting place for eight Newfoundland Regiment soldiers. Private Hugh McWhirter of Humbermouth is one of them. He was the first member of the regiment to be killed in action during the First World War.

The Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial is faithful to the design and construction of the other memorial sites honouring Newfoundland soldiers during the First World War.

The bronze caribou is almost 700 kilograms and approximately 2.5 metres high and 3 metres long. This is the sixth memorial in Europe commemorating the achievements and sacrifices of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War. Together, they form what is known as the Trail of the Caribou.

Newfoundland Regiment arrives at Gallipoli

After almost a year of training, the Newfoundland Regiment joined the 29^th British Division fighting in Gallipoli. They paused in Egypt for two weeks to acclimatize troops to the weather before arriving in Gallipoli. 1,076 soldiers of the Newfoundland Regiment landed at Suvla Bay on the shores of the Dardanelles Strait on 20 September 1915. It was the only North American unit to participate in this campaign.

In the trenches

Life in the trenches was miserable. The weather fluctuated from extreme heat that brought swarms of flies that spread disease such as dysentery, to extreme cold causing bad cases of frostbite.

By September 30, the Newfoundland Regiment had taken responsibility for a 1.5-kilometre stretch of the British front line. Its trenches lay just 50 metres from the Turkish lines. There, the trenches stuck out at an angle which exposed the soldiers to enemy fire from two sides.

Capture and sacrifice

Despite the difficult conditions, the Newfoundlanders earned their first battle honour when they captured Caribou Hill in November 1915. The Newfoundland Regiment covered the evacuation of Allied troops when the campaign came to an end. Its members were among the last to leave Gallipoli in January 1916. The campaign took a heavy toll on the Newfoundlanders. Some 22 soldiers were killed in action, eight died of wounds and ten died of disease. Another 80 Newfoundland Regiment soldiers were wounded.

History of monument

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Advisory Council and the College of the North Atlantic partnered to create the Gallipoli Newfoundland Memorial. It was completed and installed on the site in April 2021. As such, it now completes the Trail of the Caribou.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial: Gallipoli campaign

• Lance Corporal Edward Gardner
• George Abbot
• Stanley Abbot
• Francis Thomas Lind
• Hugh Walter McWhirter

Location

GPS Coordinates: N40.31256, E26.251981

Address: (Village/District/Province): 17900 Küçükanafarta/Eceabat/Çanakkale, Türkiye