N.L. hockey team travelling to Beaumont Hamel to connect with fallen soldiers
Hockey players will walk — and represent — the Trail of the Caribou
A group of Newfoundland teenagers will travel to France to represent their province and country in an upcoming series of hockey games, while connecting to a part of their history.
The newly formed Trail of the Caribou U-18 Hockey Team, formed in memory of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, will play a series of games against European teams. The group travels on Friday.
Manager Michael Holden said the team is composed of hockey players from around the metro St. John's region along with Twillingate and St. Anthony. The trip has been a goal since he travelled with another team from the province to Germany and the Czech Republic last year.
But the most important part of the trip is off the ice.
Named for the trail of five monuments honouring Newfoundlanders and their sacrifices in World War I, the group will also walk the Trail of the Caribou to Beaumont Hamel. Holden said the trip provides a unique opportunity to connect sport, education and history.
"I started talking about it, I mentioned it to some parents, and everybody was over the moon," Holden told CBC Radio Wednesday.
Holden said the group hopes to represent Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada with pride while educating the teams they play against. The team is travelling with both Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador themed jerseys — the latter showcasing a Caribou logo on a bright blue jersey, symbolizing a forget-me-not flower and the Regiment's logo.
Cameron Heath, a Grade 12 student at Holy Spirit High School who is part of the team, called the journey the trip of a lifetime.
Once the team arrives at Beaumont Hamel, Holden said they will partake in a ceremony with the help of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Players will recite the Act of Remembrance, lay a wreath and hear the anthems of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador and Great Britain and the Last Post.
Each player has also been assigned a soldier buried in the graveyard at Beaumont Hamel to research. They'll also stand at the soldier's grave site.
Heath's soldier is Pvt. Malcolm Cyril Mahaney. Born in Carbonear in 1893, Mahaney was killed at the Battle of Beaumont Hamel at the age of 23.
"He was so young. Had so much life left, and he went to war for his country. For his family, for his friends," Heath said.
"Some of the soldiers my friends have are the same age as us, and it's very eerie to us. This is a concept we never knew."
Players have also been asked to bring something from the province to place on the graves.
"I'm hoping to bring a small Newfoundland flag, or maybe a beach rock, to remind him of home," Heath said.
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With files from On The Go