Commemoration, Cult of the Fallen (Newfoundland) : Commemoration, Cult of the Fallen (Newfoundland)
In Newfoundland, the cult of the fallen followed the military disaster that befell the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel on 1 July 1916. Newfoundland and imperial officials portrayed the tragedy as a glorious sacrifice, beginning a wartime tradition of honouring the dead as martyrs. While supp...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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BSB - Bavarian State Library
2016
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.15463/ie1418.10955 http://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/commemoration_cult_of_the_fallen_newfoundland/2016-09-01 |
| Summary: | In Newfoundland, the cult of the fallen followed the military disaster that befell the Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont Hamel on 1 July 1916. Newfoundland and imperial officials portrayed the tragedy as a glorious sacrifice, beginning a wartime tradition of honouring the dead as martyrs. While supportive of the veneration of the fallen, William Coaker, the leader of the Fishermen’s Protective Union, was uncomfortable with their commemoration as crusaders for British “liberty,” by which local elites meant liberal democracy and laissez faire, and which focused on remembering the dead with monuments. Coaker’s views triggered a bitter debate about the meaning of the fallen, fostering divisive politics and the end of responsible government in 1934. : 1914-1918-Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War : 1914-1918-Online International Encyclopedia of the First World War |
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