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Post by jamesw on Jun 29, 2016 22:00:16 GMT
This Friday, July 1, is Canada Day, our country's 149th birthday as a nation (a big one next year!). But the day also marks the 100th anniversary of the First World War battle at Beaumont Hamel in France. On that day, July 1 1916, Newfoundland, then an independent country, experienced one of it's greatest losses of the Great War. In the first two hours of the attack at Beaumont Hamel, 85% of Newfoundlands First Newfoundland Regiment became casualties (324 killed or missing, 386 wounded) in an enemy barrage. The battle, according to a recent Maclean's magazine article, is believed to have spelled the beginning of the end of Newfoundland as a nation, 'that the loss of so many good men...sent the dominion down the road to economic and political ruin that led to it joining Canada.' On January 2 1919 the Newfoundland Postal Department issued a 12 stamp commemorative set, the Trail of the Caribou, to honour the services and memory of the Newfoundland contingent in the war. The stamps are inscribed with various names of WWI battle fields, with the 2¢ Ubique representing all the sites. The 4¢ stamp was issued to honour Beaumont Hamel. After reading the article today, I thought I'd post its link along with an image of the stamp. The link to the article is below.
www.macleans.ca/society/why-beaumont-hamel-so-close-our-hearts/ |
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Post by smauggie on Jun 30, 2016 16:53:56 GMT
Silly question I am sure, but why is the caribou's mouth open?
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Post by jamesw on Jun 30, 2016 19:34:00 GMT
Not sure. I assumed it's based the statue erected at Newfoundland Memorial Park erected in Beaumont Hamel as shown in the Maclean's article, but I see that was erected in 1925.
My guess is the caribou is calling out to it's mate/the lost soldiers/the world...who knows.
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Post by ChickasawStampMan on Jul 1, 2016 5:12:16 GMT
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!
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Post by jamesw on Jul 1, 2016 13:21:24 GMT
Cheers ChickasawStampMan! [BROKEN IMAGE LINK(S) REMOVED] ...a seed of an idea. |
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Post by smauggie on Jul 1, 2016 13:47:39 GMT
Having done a little research, the vocalization of the caribou (both male and female) is called a bugle call. This may add a military significance to the elk having his mouth open as the bugle was used in olden times to sound various calls as a way to communicate orders between the commander and his men. The bugle call could signify rallying the troops, charging, retreating or, perhaps more significantly, "taps".
Happy Birthday Canada!
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Post by nbstamper on May 17, 2020 18:53:21 GMT
Time to bump up this 4-year-old thread as well. I have been to Beaumont Hamel; see picture below. At each battlefield where the Newfoundland Regiment fought in WWI, one of these caribous has been placed. At Beaumont Hamel, the caribou stares "defiantly" across the battlefield at the German lines. It is a very moving experience to visit this place, a little piece of historic Canada in a foreign land. From my extended family from Newfoundland (maternal grandfather's parents), six young men were killed in WWI, one at Beaumont Hamel and two at Monchy-le-Preux, an almost equally brutal battle where the Newfoundland Regiment also suffered significant casualties. The 1919 stamp series is one of my favourites and I will post some images later.  |
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Post by nbstamper on May 17, 2020 19:05:05 GMT
It is extremely difficult to find the high values of this set on cover and I am working away at it. Here is an example of the 24 cent "Cambrai", the only cover with this stamp I have ever seen. If anyone knows of any, would appreciate hearing.  |
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Post by jamesw on May 17, 2020 21:19:05 GMT
Thanks for updating this nbstamper.
It gave me a nudge to update the stamp image. Unfortunately, I don't remember what the other image was that has since disappeared.
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WERT
Departed
Rest in Peace
Posts: 1,062
What I collect: Canada and Provinces
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Post by WERT on May 17, 2020 21:44:19 GMT
nbstamper If you want to see hundreds of NFLD covers, go to my friends website..Great site.
Robert
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Post by nbstamper on May 18, 2020 0:42:39 GMT
Indeed it is WERT; like to have some of those in my collection.  |
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hrdoktorx
Member 
Posts: 7,213
What I collect: France (and French territories), Africa, Canada, USA, Germany, Guatemala, stamps about science, flags, maps, stamps on stamps...
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Post by hrdoktorx on May 18, 2020 5:51:48 GMT
Thanks for sharing this tidbit of history. I always wondered what the place names in the Caribou series referred to. Now I know!
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 5,908 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on May 18, 2020 22:40:57 GMT
I have always thought that these were among the most beautiful of the single-color classic issues of all time. I only have the first five from this set of twelve, but I thought I would post them now, while this is a trending topic. Thanks to James ( jamesw ) for starting this thread, and thanks to nbstamper for reviving it! I look forward to seeing images of other members' stamps from this great series.  Newfoundland, Sc 115-119 "Trail of the Caribou" commemorative stamps, 1-cent through 5-cent values |
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Post by nbstamper on May 20, 2020 20:11:58 GMT
Nice stamps Beryllium Guy; nicely centred. Here is the complete mint set with a few shade varieties, maybe including the 15 cent "Prussian Blue" although I'm not 100% certain of that. Probably need to get a cert.  |
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator
Posts: 5,908
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on May 20, 2020 20:46:29 GMT
nbstamper , thanks so much for posting your unused set! I had a feeling that you would have the complete series! Thanks for your comment about my short set. In fact, I went through quite a lot of copies of these stamps to find these. Good centering seems to be tough to find for this set. Of the five that I have shown, the first four are actually used, but with very light cancellations, and only the 5-cent is unused (mint hinged). I really like your set, and frankly, I have not seen some of the higher denomination stamps from this set at all up until now. For what it's worth, looking at your 5-cent, I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be the Prussian blue color variety. It looks dramatically different from mine, which is very probably the more common shade.Thanks again--great stuff!  Edit: nbstamper , I realize now that you mentioned the 15-cent blue color variety, and I was looking at the 5-cent. Sorry about that--totally my mistake. In any case, your 5-cent looks like a much brighter shade of blue than mine, and I have a couple of other 5-cent stamps that look just the same color-wise as the one I posted. It is much harder to tell the difference between your two 15-cent stamps.
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stanley64
Member
Posts: 1,978
What I collect: Canada, USA, Netherlands, Portugal & Colonies, Antarctic Territories and anything that catches my eye...
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Post by stanley64 on May 21, 2020 6:49:05 GMT
Great thread; thanks to all that contributed to date! In the stillness of the morning, I can hear the bull male's call...
Happy collecting! |
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salentin
Member
collecting Germany,where I live and about 20 more countries,half of them in Asia east of the Indus
Posts: 6,506
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Post by salentin on May 21, 2020 7:32:08 GMT
Colours are a big poblem to me.I guess I will benever able to distinguish Bavaria Michel 2 I from 2 II. Here the page with "blues" from my Michel Colour Guide 25th edition,1965:
Hope,it helps with the 5 Cents !
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wilford
Member
I also voted. Trying to decide on a topic for my next article.
Posts: 136
What I collect: Courthouses, judges, laws, lawyers. South African Homelands. Rockwell Kent (1939 Christmas Seal)
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Post by wilford on May 21, 2020 14:45:59 GMT
As a new member of the Forum I have enjoyed this thread. My Australian wife and I visited Newfoundland several years ago, when I was giving a lecture on World War I and the artist Rockwell Kent at the provincial art gallery The Rooms. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and in the Great Northern Peninsula.
Anyway, I took a look at my late Father's worldwide stamp album, which I used when I began tamp collecting many years ago. Two of these stamps are in it. I am enclosing a photo. Some wonderful memories. Here is a picture of the stamps that I own. Not the best photo I am afraid to say.
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Post by nbstamper on May 21, 2020 18:05:33 GMT
Wilford
Glad you enjoyed your stay in Newfoundland. I have been to the Island a couple of dozen times and spent many hours at The Rooms doing family research. It is a wonderful facility and they have an extensive collection of records of the Newfoundland Regiment which I reviewed as part of my research. It is sad how callously some families of missing or deceased soldiers were treated by the military during this horrible conflict.
Collecting Newfoundland stamps is fun but getting more expensive as more collectors are drawn to this former Country no longer issuing stamps. Many of the stamps are beautifully engraved and tell an engaging story of Newfoundland's history.
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