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.

Frances Ennis has been creating originally designed hooked rugs with her sister-in-law Maxine since 2002. Their rugs tell a story about who they are as individuals, where they come from and what they cherish about life and living in Newfoundland and Labrador. These sisters-in-law have enhanced their relationship and their rug hooking skills together and separately by attending workshops, courses and conferences, teaching rug hooking classes and collaborating on rug hooking projects. Several of their rugs have been featured in Rug Hooking magazine, and many are displayed in private and public collections in Canada and Europe. In 2008, Frances and Maxine hooked rugs and provided instruction and guidance to a group of women who produced a series of twenty-five rugs about Beaumont Hamel. These rugs are on permanent display at the Veteran’s Pavilion in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. This project’s success led to others: “Women’s Lives: Women’s Stories,” exhibited at the Five Island Art Gallery, Tors Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador (March 2009); “Hooking Our Heritage,” exhibited at the Five Island Art Gallery (May 2010) and at the Ros Tapestry Centre, New Ross, Ireland, (September 2010); “Hooking to Our Heart’s Content,” exhibited in Heart’s Content, Newfoundland and Labrador (summer 2011); and “A Whale of a Tale . . . With Hooks, Lines and Singers,” exhibited at the Arts and Culture Centre, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador ( July 2011). Frances and Maxine have participated in a numerous provincial, national and international juried exhibits sponsored by the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists.They enjoy working together to create the designs and hook all sorts of materials into the chosen backing of burlap, linen or monks cloth. They love to teach and pass on this tradition, an activity that is consistent with their backgrounds—Frances was an adult educator and community development worker and Maxine was a primary school teacher. And they treasure their “dye days” when they can transform those old castaway wool blankets, passed on by friends or found at thrift shops, into bright, mottled or subdued colours. Their tools include old pots and a propane burner by the back door, acid and natural dyes and other ingredients purchased through the mail and some native plants picked during a stroll in the woods on a sunny day. Frances has three daughters, their respective partners, a cherished granddaughter, Abbegayle, and lives with her husband, Bill, in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Frances Ennis' profile page

Bob Wakeham has been a journalist in Newfoundland for almost forty-five years and has won numerous awards and accolades for his work. Bob began his career as a reporter with the Evening Telegram. From there he moved on to become an interviewer and commentator with CBC Radio. Then he became the executive producer for the CBC television supper-hour news program, Here and Now, and the documentary programs On Camera, Soundings, and Land and Sea. He is the author of a memoir called For the Moment, about his survival from cancer. Since his retirement from the CBC, Bob has been writing a weekly column for the Telegram. He and his wife, Heather Coultas, live in Flatrock. Bob’s maternal grandfather, Joe Judge, a native of Point Verde, Placentia Bay, and a long-time resident of Grand Falls, was wounded at Beaumont-Hamel.

Bob Wakeham's profile page