Isabel May Simms served during the First World War. She enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, Canadian Expeditionary Force as the rank of nursing sister. During her service, Simms served in Canada, England and France with the C.A.M.C Depot.
She was discharged in 1919 due to “general demobilization” .
Come visit The Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum to see Isabel May Simms’ collection and the items of other nurses who served in the First World War on display.
Isabel May Simms served during the First World War. She enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, Canadian Expeditionary Force as the rank of nursing sister. During her service, Simms served in Canada, England and France with the C.A.M.C Depot.
She was discharged in 1919 due to “general demobilization” .
Come visit The Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum to see Isabel May Simms’ collection and the items of other nurses who served in the First World War on display.
Wheelchairs have evolved and developed since their iterations as early as 1300 BC, with the first American patent issued in 1869. Over their lifetime, wheelchairs became lighter and more manoeuvrable. Wheelchairs used in the First World War utilized the changes brought about by the aftermath of the American Civil War. This included: bicycle wheels (wire-spoked) and the wicker back, legs, and seat. Both alterations to the wheelchair enabled it to become lighter, more portable, easier to handle, and more versatile.
Visit the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum to see the First World War Wheelchair that belonged to Lt Col Walter Rendell on display.
*https://www.civilwarmed.org/surgeons-call/wheelchairs/
Wheelchairs have evolved and developed since their iterations as early as 1300 BC, with the first American patent issued in 1869. Over their lifetime, wheelchairs became lighter and more manoeuvrable. Wheelchairs used in the First World War utilized the changes brought about by the aftermath of the American Civil War. This included: bicycle wheels (wire-spoked) and the wicker back, legs, and seat. Both alterations to the wheelchair enabled it to become lighter, more portable, easier to handle, and more versatile.
Visit the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum to see the First World War Wheelchair that belonged to Lt Col Walter Rendell on display.
*https://www.civilwarmed.org/surgeons-call/wheelchairs/
This dressing packet was a standard part of a soldier’s. Much like its name suggests, It was meant to be used to dress a man’s wounds if a medical professional wasn’t close at hand.
Packs usually contained 1-2 dressings, with safety pins to fasten them.
Featured above are two first field dressing packets within the Royal Newfoundland Regiment’s collection (currently on display). The first (2009-074) was owned by Sgt. Thomas Hammond (#360), manufactured in London in 1916. The second, marked with an orange arrow, (2007-248) was produced in Montreal in 1941.
Leading up to “Z-Day”, the Great Push, several raids were conducted on German trenches. The objective: to capture German prisoners for information/identification. The Royal Newfoundland Regiment participated in two of the eight raids that occurred.
The first, was June 26th; a Monday. With the artillery bombardment on German trenches leading up to the Great Push, the raiding parties had limited time to enter the chosen trench and meet their objective. They immediately ran into issues when trying to get through the barbed wire. It wasn’t as damaged as they thought from the artillery and all attempts to get through the wire failed. Soon the German troops were alerted and began firing on the raiding party. The Newfoundlanders withdrew.
The second raid was the following night, Tuesday the 27th of June. They changed the firing path of the artillery to give the parties no time limit to accomplish their objective. However, they were met by a trench full of enemies and engaged in a 25 minutes conflict with the enemy. In this conflict, 4 Newfoundlanders were killed, 21 wounded, and 3 were missing (with 2/3 having been taken captive by the Germans). Pte. George Philips is credited as having bayoneted 2 Germans during this conflict. He returned the next morning after being out all night and was covered in blood. Mostly the blood of others.
Although the objective was not met (they had no German prisoners), the second raid showed that the location of attack during Z-day was “well fortified and held in great strength”.
To prepare for these raids, and for the Great Push itself, trench maps were used: hand-drawn maps created using aerial photographs for reference. Officers would write and draw on such maps. The aerial photographs were those taken of “Y” Ravine” by the Royal Flying Corps. They showed how the Germans used the landscape. Everyone involved in the raids studied the aerial photographs to familiarize themselves with the routes they needed to take in the dark.
Both the maps and photographs were consulted, written on, and studied by the British and Newfoundlanders before the Great Push. Pictured above are maps and photographs thought to have belonged Captain Hadow. The hand-drawn maps may have been used by Captain Hadow but are more likely duplicates he kept (based on their condition).
Come visit the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum to see maps used during the First World War.
Gunner (and later Reverend) Wesley Oake was born and grew up in Beaumont, Notre Dame Bay. He joined the Regiment in 1941: spending a year in the militia and then joining the 166th Newfoundland Field Regiment. Gunner Oake saw active duty in England and Italy (Naples and Casino).
After the Second World War Gunner Oake followed a spiritual call and became a minister for the United Church of Canada.
Pictured above is the sermon (2019-086P) Reverend Oake gave at the 61st Reunion Service for the 166th Field Regiment on September 8th, 2002.
Coming soon to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum Website and YouTube is a video of the full interview with Reverend Wesley Oake. Below is a clip from the interview.
Every soldier brought something with them from home, whether a token from family, community, or faith. These had to be small, something to fit in a pocket, a bag, or around their neck. Items like this were symbols of why they fought, and what gave them the drive to keep fighting. They sought solace and comfort in these reminders of home and community, something bigger than themselves.
For Pte. John Joseph Peddell (#705), some of the tokens he brought were of his faith. One was his rosary beads: black beads with a silver chain and crucifix. The second was a small, black leather case that held a crucifix, prayers, and identification/instructions in case of death. The third is a small religious icon of Madonna and Child. The figures are made of brass and are held within a two piece brass case. All three are the perfect size so Peddle could bring them with him wherever he went while serving in the Regiment.
Come visit the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum to see other tokens and items carried by soldiers from the Regiment, including Peddle’s Rosary Beads, Prayer Book, and Icon.
Yesterday the museum took possession of a piece of Newfoundland military history – a cannon purported to have been used by the French in the Battle of Signal Hill. This cannon was once displayed in Buckmaster’s Field – site of Royal Canadian Navy shore barrack’s and home to a number of military units until they were moved to Pleasantville, including the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.
As members of the museum community we take seriously our mandate to preserve and interpret our history. We feel it is important to step in where we can and take possession of historical artifacts for future generations. As we go through the process of prepping the cannon for display we encourage anyone with information on this particular cannon to drop us a line at rnfldrmuseum@gmail.com.
We send a shout out to everyone who came out to help load and unload the cannon. Special thanks to the Grand Concourse authority who gave us a place to store it while we prepare to bring it back to life.
Museum Chair Frank Gogos, committee member Chris Butt, WO Jim Prowse Regiment Band, past chair Regimental Advisory Council Ron Penney, and former President of the Newfoundland Labrador Command of the Royal Canadian Legion Frank Sullivan volunteered to load the cannon onto the truck for transportation and storage.
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The Museum in support of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment has been manning a booth at the annual Royal Newfoundland Regiment Memorial High School Hockey Tournament — the Beaumont Hamel Centennial Cup being held in Paradise this weekend. The organizers have created a fantastic event in memory of those who fought and died with the famous regiment during the First World War. On Friday APril 13, the tournament was officially opened in the presence of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment band and a ceremonial puck drop with members of the unit. Best of luck to all teams in today’s Trail of the Caribou rounds.
