Beaumont Hamel receives UNESCO World Heritage status

The Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France is one of 51 burial sites — some holding the remains of tens of thousands of soldiers — and memorials granted world heritage status this week by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Word of the prestigious designation started filtering out Thursday morning after the Commonwealth War Graves Commission announced the news Wednesday on its website, with historians in Newfoundland and Labrador welcoming the surprise news.

None were aware there was a lobby effort underway by regional governments in France and Belgium.

Historian and author Gary Browne learned the news from a fellow historian, John FitzGerald, through an early morning phone call.

"Wow, I was just … completely moved by it because it is so important," said Browne, who co-authored a book about Padre Thomas Nangle, who served as chaplain to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War and was instrumental in creating post-war memorials, including Beaumont Hamel.

UNESCO's World Heritage Council, the committee that selects World Heritage sites, added the cemeteries and memorials — 139 sites in total — to its prestigious list during meetings that are ongoing in Saudi Arabia.

The sites are located on what was known as the Western Front, where soldiers died in massive numbers between 1914 and 1918 in battles between German and Allied forces. 

Newfoundland was a separate British dominion at the time of the First World War and contributed thousands of personnel to the Allied effort.

Beaumont Hamel is considered sacred ground because the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was decimated there on July 1, 1916, during the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. Only 68 of the 800 who went into battle answered roll call the next day — the rest were dead, injured or missing.

The battle remains a defining moment in history because its fallout touched so many communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, which became a Canadian province in 1949.

The scarred landscape and trenches remain preserved beneath a bed of grass, with an imposing caribou statue — the regiment's emblem — at the heart of the lasting tribute to those who served. The site also includes a bronze plaque inscribed with the names of 820 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who died during the war and had no known grave.

The Beaumont Hamel memorial, unveiled in 1925, is one of the most visited memorials in Northern France. Now its iconic status is protected by the United Nations.

"Anything that is done to recognize the service and sacrifice of our soldiers during the First World War and after, it's very important," said historian and author Frank Gogos. "And of course it's all about commemorating our dead so that we don't forget the atrocities of war."

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