In the footsteps of Private George Phillips, Newfoundland Regiment (Photo Blog)

The Newfoundland Memorial at Gueudecourt.

Why this journey?

Private Georges Phillips, 
​Royal Nfld Regt., #1164

The very first Battlefield blogpost that we wrote a few months ago, covered the tragic story of the Newfoundlanders at Beaumont-Hamel on the 1st of July 1916. 
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One of the people who reacted to this post was a relative of a Newfoundland soldier, named George Phillips. She was kind enough to share all the research she had done and that was the start of my journey into his footsteps. Literally!
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I did not want to reconstruct the actions of the Newfoundlanders or write some historical essay on the battles of the Somme. On the contrary. 
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I just wanted to visit and photograph the places where this man -George- past his last months among the living, before he went missing on the 12th of October 1916. ​

Battlefield Photography

I focussed on his story in France and visited the small village of Englebelmer, where he was billeted before the battle of the Somme and practised for the upcoming battle and trench raids. I followed his footsteps in the Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont-Hamel and finally visited the village of Gueudecourt and the fields around it, the place where George went missing during the raid on Hilt trench.

George Phillips' arrival in Englebelmer

Main road of Englebelmer, where the church is situated.

Main road of Englebelmer, where the church is situated.

Closer view on the church of Englebelmer.

The town hall of Englebelmer, further on the Main Road.

Main road to the village Vitermont, which is situated right beside Englebelmert.

View towards the Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont-Hamel, taken from the outskirts of Englebelmer.

The battle of Beaumont-Hamel

These are the grounds where George did the trench raids (he was posthumously awarded for his actions) and where he got wounded on 1st of July 1916.
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Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont-Hamel, on a rainy day.
​The great Caribou watches over the fallen Newfoundlanders.

One of the 3 bronze tablets beneath the Caribou.  These bronze tablets carry the names of 820 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Navy Reserve and the Mercantile Marines who gave their lives in the first World War and have no known  grave. Private George Phillips was one of them.  

Private Georges Phillips, 
​​Royal Nfld Regt., #1164

Source picture (edited): Photo album courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division (VA-40), St. John's, NL. http://www.heritage.nf.ca/first-world-war/gallery/virtual-scrapbook/index.php

One of the 3 bronze tablets beneath the Caribou, where George Phillips is commemorated.

The remains of the Danger Tree, still standing there after al these years.  It marks the furthest point of advance of the Newfoundlanders on the July the 1st 1916. View from the Danger Tree, ​across no man’s land. The Newfoundlanders had to cross this terrain during their attack on the German frontline.

Trenches of the German frontline at Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont-Hamel.

Trenches of the German frontline.

Closer view of the German trenches.

View towards the British frontline, taken from the German trenches.

Memoirs of Howard Leopold Morry

Another of our chaps, Philips by name (George Phillips) jumped down among a whole trench full of Germans. All that our chaps could hear were screeches and groans from the trench. They had to leave him there, but he turned up the next evening all rags and blood and wounds. Seems he must have cleared the whole trench and got out and hid in a shell hole till next evening.

Source: http://ngb.chebucto.org/NFREG/WWI/ww1-add-morry726-memoirs.shtml

Newfoundland Memorial Park, Beaumont-Hamel. View towards Y-Ravine. This terrain is covered with shell holes.

This is the location of Y-ravine: the home of the German 119 Reserve Infantry Regiment, who were defending Beaumont-Hamel. The infantry, with soldiers having a mining background, made deep dugouts and fortifications into the side of the deep Y-shaped ravine. They sheltered and protected the German soldiers during the bombardments before the attack.

Terrain over which George Phillips attacked the German frontline.
​The danger tree is situated on the right side (outside of this picture). 

View towards the location of the Hawthorn mine, which went of on the 1st of July 1916. The explosion of this mine is something that George Phillips must have seen and heard, as he waited in the trenches. The famous Sunken Lane is on the left side of the picture.

View on the Newfoundland Memorial Park, taken from the old British Frontline.

Hawthorn Ridge Cemetery nr 1. at Beaumont-Hamel.

The fighting at Gueudecourt

Gueudecourt, Rue de Miraumont. Leading to the center of this small village.

Gueudecourt, town center. 

Gueudecourt, town hall.

Site of the old church of Gueudecourt.

Gueudecourt. This main road leads to the Newfoundland Memorial.

The old cemetery of Gueudecourt. The starting positions of the Newfoundland Regiment in the far distance on the right.

Gueudecourt. The starting positions of the Newfoundland Regiment in the far distance on the left. Hilt trench ran across this road.

Gueudecourt. A few shells I found during my short walk in the surrounding fields. Dead is still very  present.

Gueudecourt. View from the starting positions of the Newfoundlanders towards Hilt Trench.

Gueudecourt. In the far distance you can see the trees surrounding the Caribou Newfoundland Memorial.

Gueudecourt. Attacking grounds of the Newfoundlanders.

Gueudecourt. In the far distance you can see the sun standing above the Caribou Newfoundland Memorial.

The Caribou Newfoundland Memorial, with the old trench line behind it.

​Its sometimes hard to imagine or understand that so much horror went on here. That these - now so peaceful - fields were filled with the morbid sound of dying or wounded men. 

We all see these remains of trenches but we can’t feel the fear they all must have felt, when they waited for the awful sound of the whistle to go over the top. I can imagine that George felt the same fear. 

One thing is for sure. We can or may never forget what went on here. Something we owe to them.

After the assault

During the 55 hours between entering the trenches on October 10 1916 and the end of the battle, the Newfoundland Regiment suffered 239 casualties.  120 of these men were killed.

George Phillips was one of them. He would never return to Whitbourne, Newfoundland. His remains are still resting in the French soil near Gueudecourt. He was posthumously awarded with the Military Medal and the Russian Medal of St. George, Third Class, for the bravery he showed at Beaumont-Hamel. 
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​London Gazette, 21 Dec 1916

He displayed conspicuous gallantry in the raid on 27/28 June 1916, south of Beaumont-Hamel. He entered the enemy trench and accounted for several of the enemy single handed. After getting out of the trench he went back again to try and obtain some identification. He remained out all night and had to cut his way back through the enemy's wire. This man also took part in the attack on July 1st and showed great gallantry. He was wounded on this date.

Source: http://www.rnfldr.ca/history.aspx?item=144#Newfoundlanders%20at%20BH 

This visit and my whole journey was kind of an emotional and personal thing. A sort of pilgrimage I think. Strange to feel connected with someone you never knew or met. 
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As I walked down the old trench line, the lyrics of the song The green fields of France kept repeating in my head. 
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 The trenches have vanished long under the plow,
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now

Please reply to this post and join us in remembering private George Phillips and all the other soldiers who where killed during the battlefield of the Somme or elsewhere on the front.
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Thank you for sharing our blogpost.

​Tom and Sarah

Battlefield Photography

Sources
Many thanks to a relative of Newfoundland soldier George Phillips. She was kind enough to share all the research she had done!
https://www.therooms.ca/sites/default/files/phillips_george_1164.pdf
http://www.rnfldr.ca/history.aspx?item=144#Newfoundlanders%20at%20BH 
http://ngb.chebucto.org/NFREG/WWI/ww1-add-morry726-memoirs.shtml
http://www.heritage.nf.ca/first-world-war/gallery/virtual-scrapbook/index.php

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Want to learn more?

 Read more about Private George Phillips' story:
 https://www.therooms.ca/sites/default/files/phillips_george_1164.pdf

Check out our blogpost on Beaumont-Hamel:
​The tragedy of the Newfoundland Regiment (Photo Blog)

Watch these short movies on The Newfoundland Regiment and its battles

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ABOUT OUR BLOG

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We take you along our photographic journey through the World War battlefields in Belgium and France. With our black and white photographs and self written poetry, we share our impression of these historic, heroic and tragic events.