Prince Charles honours regiment at Beaumont-Hamel ceremony in France
Princes Charles and his wife Camilla were among thousands taking in the 100th anniversary commemoration ceremony in Beaumont-Hamel, France, on Friday.
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"This magnificent and moving monument which we find ourselves gathered today reminds us of the sacrifices of the sons of Newfoundland and Labrador," said Charles.
It was one of several stops for the Prince of Wales throughout the day to mark the centennial of the start of the Battle of the Somme.
Charles offered some words about the Newfoundland Regiment's role in the Great War.
"The caribou bears solemn witness to their heroic action, of all the battles fought by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War, none was as devastating or defining as the first day of the Battle of the Somme."
Prince Charles in Beaumont-Hamel to honour Newfoundland Regiment troops who fought in the Battle of the Somme <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cbc?src=hash">#cbc</a> <a href="https://t.co/e3udh1k1mb">pic.twitter.com/e3udh1k1mb</a>
—@thomasdaigleCharles, whose great-grandfather King George V gave the Regiment the royal distinction a year after Beaumont-Hamel, said the the men who died that day shared the same values as other in the commonwealth who died during the First World War and other wars that followed.
"We said then, and since that we will never forget, and we never have," he said. "Courage and determination to stand up for what we believe, whatever the odds and whatever the cost."
Many of the thousands of people who flocked to the memorial had travelled from Newfoundland and Labrador, which marks July 1 each year as Memorial Day, as well as Canada Day.
"They gave without reserve and we pay homage to them, those who literally made Canada," Charles said.
"Together with all Canadians we remember those lives cut short — and in so doing rededicate ourselves to their eternal and living memory as an example to current generations and to generations yet unborn.
"We will not forget them."
