Royal Newfoundland Regiment at Gallipoli, 1915

The Blue Putties: Great Britain declared war in early August of 1914. A message came through to the governor of this colony saying that the empire was at war. Almost immediately the governor wired back saying "I think we can raise 500 troops." This regiment was raised from scratch. The uniforms were almost homespun, but they were khaki. But when the time came to make the puttee - a puttee is a strip of cloth that goes around a soldier's calf, like a legging - they could not find any more khaki broadcloth. So from some place, they scrounged blue broadcloth, and from that they made the puttees.
	Newfoundland Regiment hat badge
And today, in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, to be a descendant of a blue puttee is a very, very great honour.

Until it became a province of Canada in 1949 Newfoundland was an independent British colony. Upon the outbreak of war Newfoundland offered a force of 500 soldiers and an increase from 500 to 1,000 in the naval service.

The initial decision to raise a land force of 500 men was based on the view, widely shared, that the war would be won on land rather than at sea. The British Army was based on fighting units (battalions) of 1,080 officers and men, plus reserves of 50 percent, and the pressure to achieve combat strength proved irresistible.

Assigned to the 88th brigade of the 29th Division, the last infantry division formed during the war from regular battalions of the British Army, the Newfoundland Regiment distinguished itself on a number of occasions—Gallipoli, Beaumont Hamel, Gueudecourt, Monchy, and Cambrai. Twice it was nearly annihilated. By the end of the war 6,241 Newfoundlanders (only Newfoundlanders were eligible) had joined its ranks. An additional 3,296 Newfoundlanders joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).

The Newfoundland Contingent sailed for England on October 3rd 1914, its ship having been joined at sea by the convoy carrying the First Canadian Contingent. Upon the convoys' arrival in England the Newfoundland Regiment was separated from the Canadians and sent to training camps in Scotland.

In early 1915 the Regiment was moved to the large British camp at Aldershot and in September was sent to Egypt on its way to its first commitment, Gallipoli.

The Newfoundland Regiment landed at Suvla Bay on the Gallipoli peninsula on the night of September 19th 1915 in order to reinforce the hard-pressed British 88th Brigade of the 29th Division. From the beginning the Regiment had a hard time; day and night the Turkish army in control of the high ground surrounding the beach poured a constant stream of artillery and sniper fire down upon the British line. Casualties mounted day by day and the constant enemy fire made re-supply difficult at best, and food and water shortages were common.

In spite of the hardships the Regiment played an important part in advancing the line on November 4th and was awarded two Distinguished Conduct Medals and a Military Cross during the fighting at Caribou Hill.

With the coming of winter the conditions on the peninsula went from bad to worse. On November 26th a severe storm struck the Regiment a nasty blow. Three days of torrential rain and driving sleet washed away trenches and supplies and as the temperature fell rapidly the rain turned to snow.

B Company in front line, Suvla Bay, 1915.
Capt. Alexander (left) and Capt. Nunns (right).
Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL VA-37-1), St. John’s, Newfoundland.

With food and water running short and little or no shelter to be found even the hardy men of Newfoundland, who were no strangers to bad weather, began to succumb and several died of exposure. By December 10th the Regiment was down to quarter strength.

On the 20th December the British withdrew from Suvla and the Newfoundland Regiment was sent to Cape Helles to assist in the final withdrawal of British forces. By then only 170 men were left. The Newfoundland Regiment was moved to France on the 22nd of March 1916, and there they began the task of rebuilding the tattered remnants of the unit in preparation for there next engagement on the Somme.

It was at Gallipoli that the regiment came under the command of the man who is said to have "made the Regiment," Lieutenant-Colonel A. L. Hadow, a regular British Army officer. Although Hadow was not popular with his troops, he earned their respect. It was under his stern command that the Newfoundlanders went into battle at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916. (They were almost wiped out in another of those stupid British frontal attacks against machine guns protected by barbed wire entanglements, even AFTER the lead Battalion had already been destroyed without gain. Hadow did not to lead his Regiment on that occasion, he chose to watch from a safe trench).

	Colonel Dr. Cluny Macpherson Egypt, September 1915. Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL Macpherson Collection A-24-155), St. John's, Newfoundland.
	Captain Frew, Medical Officer Suvla Bay, 1915. Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL VA-37-1), St. John’s, Newfoundland.
	B Company in front line, Suvla Bay, 1915. Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL VA-37-1), St. John’s, Newfoundland.
	Front line trenches, Suvla Bay, 1915. Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL VA-37-3)St. John’s, Newfoundland.
	Major B H Tait, Adjutant, 1915. Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL A-7-109), St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Cape Helles, Gallipoli.

Photo taken between December 22, 1915 and January 9, 1916.

Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (PANL B3-15), St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Toward the end of the Gallipoli Campaign the Newfoundlanders, as part of the British 29th Division, were given the job of holding the Turkish forces. They formed part of this defensive line and the fighting was "hellish" for a number of weeks. Eventually, the British decided to get out of the Dardanelles and the Newfoundlanders had one last task. That was to retire to Cape Helles, where the British evacuation was taking place. They earned an enviable reputation and many a story was told of the bulky mules who suddenly found themselves flung bodily into the cargo carriers of a ship by the brawny-arms of the boys from the colony, who knew all about loading ships.

On January 8th, of 1916, the day of the final departure, the Turks were on the attack. A company of the Regiment was detached for last minute patrolling, thus, the Newfoundlanders were among the very last troops to leave the Dardanelles.

The Newfoundlanders today can look with pride to the fact that it is the Newfoundland Regiment alone that has the distinction of having fought in Gallipoli. No military units, from what was Canada back then, made it to the Dardanelles. What these magnificent Newfoundland troops did, however, is now part of the history of all of Canada, and all Canadians can share in the pride of their achievements.

Assorted post WW1 Newfoundland badges

	WW2 Newfoundland badge
Newfoundland Volunteer "for King & Country" badge.	1964 Reunion badge <<< Newfoundland Civil Defence Air Raid Precautions badge WW2	Royal Newfoundland Regiment Tudor (King's) Crown above and St. Edwards (Queens) Crown below