Unknown Soldier from WW I laid to rest in St. John’s as N.L. marks Memorial Day

The ceremony to entomb Newfoundland’s Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in downtown St. John’s has begun.

The Unknown Soldier arrived at the stage in front of the National War Memorial and, accompanied by the sound of bagpipes, pallbearers took the casket from the hearse and made their way up the steps of the memorial.

“No one can have greater love than to lay down their life for their country. We gather today to bear witness to the end of a pilgrimage which has brought the earthly remains of this Newfoundlander and Labradorian from Europe to this, his final resting place, at this National War Memorial,” said Canadian Armed Forces chaplain Lt.-Col. Shawn Samson.

Premier Andrew Furey was presented with the ensign flag, which the Unknown Soldier would have fought under, and also received the Canadian flag that had been draped over the casket.

After a rendition of the Ode to Newfoundland, the chaplain spoke a few more words, three volleys of gunfire rang out, and the pallbearers lowered into the tomb, followed by a fly-past by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Then, 820 forget-me-not flowers were placed over the casket, representing the 820 men from Newfoundland who served but have no known grave.

The hearse, which was accompanied by a marching contingent of hundreds Canadian Armed Forces members, made its way down Water Street in downtown St. John’s toward the war memorial, with Premier Andrew Furey — the soldier’s ceremonial next of kin — following on foot with his family.

Thousands of spectators are gathered at the memorial and along St. John’s streets for the ceremony.

The procession from the staging area began at 10 a.m. NT with rifles firing a 19-gun salute — one volley firing every minute for 19 minutes — from the Queen’s Battery on nearby Signal Hill, after the casket arrived in a hearse from Confederation Building, the seat of government for Newfoundland and Labrador, where the soldier had been lying in state since Friday.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among the dignitaries attending, arrived at the memorial ahead of the interment ceremony, which coincides with the memorial’s centennial.

Retired general Rick Hillier, former chief of defence staff, emphasized the significance of the Unknown Soldier returning to Newfoundland.

“We’re burying today not a corpse from 108 years or 106 years ago, we’re burying a young son from Newfoundland and Labrador today,” Hillier, a Newfoundlander, told CBC News on Monday morning ahead of the ceremony.

July 1 has always been a sombre day in Newfoundland and Labrador, and this year will be especially poignant for two specific reasons.

Marked for decades as Memorial Day long before Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949, the day serves as one of remembrance for soldiers killed or wounded in battle.

Of the 780 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who went on the offensive at Beaumont-Hamel in France on July 1, 1916 — the opening day of the Battle of the Somme — only 110 survived, and just 68 were available for roll call the following day.

In St. John’s on Monday, there will be an entombment ceremony for Newfoundland’s Unknown Soldier, whose remains were repatriated from northern France on May. 25.

As well, the annual Memorial Day ceremony marks the centennial of the National War Memorial in downtown St. John’s, first unveiled by Field Marshal Douglas Haig in 1924.

“It’s really important to be here to represent … all those people who fought in the war,” said Jennifer Fleming, who said her great-great-grandfather was one of what’s called the First Five Hundred, the group of soldiers who were first to enlist and go overseas in October 1914.

“Those brave men who went over and didn’t come home. I think it’s important that we’re here for them,” said Fleming.

“I think it’s quite fitting for Newfoundland to be represented with the Unknown Soldier because so many of them didn’t come back,” said Walter Peddle, one of the people who arrived hours in advance to see the ceremony.

“This is pretty touching,” said Dennis Goodyear, who described himself as a 30-year veteran.

“My grandfather served with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and was wounded in World War I [and] was lucky enough to come back,” he told CBC News. “As long as this young gentleman is home, that’s the main thing. It’s not me. It’s him.”

For months, the National War Memorial has been undergoing a refurbishment, with restoration work focused on elements that include restoring statues to their original elegance.

Hundreds of military members will march toward the war memorial as the hearse carrying the Unknown Soldier moves through the city.

• CBC News will carry live Memorial Day coverage Monday from 9 a.m. NT (7:30 ET) to 12:30 p.m. Watch on CBC Television, visit cbc.ca/nl or watch CBC Gem.

Thousands of onlookers will flood the streets, and many more are expected to watch nationally televised coverage.

Two offsite view parties are being held at The Rooms cultural complex and at the Sheraton Hotel.

Repatriation was just a dream a century ago

It’s a moment that was a long time coming.

The repatriation of Newfoundland’s Unknown Soldier started with Thomas Nangle had in 1920. Nangle, who had been the regiment’s Roman Catholic padre, later served as Newfoundland’s director of war graves registrations and enquiries, and as the country’s representative on the Imperial War Grave Commission.

His wish didn’t come to fruition — that is, until a century later, when 40-year navy veteran Frank Sullivan picked up the torch to finish the task. He has been there every step of the way, including being front and centre during the repatriation ceremony at Beaumont-Hamel in May.

Sullivan’s great-uncle, Pte. Charles Canning, served with the regiment in France and was killed in 1918. He has no known grave.

The man chosen as the Unknown Soldier will remain unknown so that he can represent all Newfoundlanders who did not make it home from the First World War and have no known grave.

Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.