WW1 Trivia time

chris vickery · #1 19-01-08, 00:03

For one point, which famous Canadian regiment was know as the "blue puttees"? For bonus points, what animal was featured on their regimental capbadge?

PPS · #2 19-01-08, 00:38

I believe that it was the (Royal) Newfoundland Regiment ( my parentheses) who had this nickname originally in WW1.

The animal featured, was it possibly a Moose/Caribou

48th Highlanders of Canada apparently wore similar items in WW2, and were nicknamed "The Glamour Boys"

Paul.

PPS · #3 19-01-08, 01:03

I found this on:-

http://www.angelfire.com/nf/yvonne/Blue.html

THE BLUE PUTTEES

The fighting at Beaumont-Hamel
Came to a standstill,
The Blue Puttees were in their trenches
A place that they called "HELL!"

Down their in the muddy trenches
With rats they shared their home,
They were trapped in their shell-hole
The enemy had to be overthrown.

Advancement had been slow
Thet only gained a few miles a day,
How long it will take to win this war
No man can say.

As part of the 88th Brigade in the 29th British Division
The first Newfoundland Regiment were assigned,
A role with the second attacking wave
To take the third enemy line.

It was Saturday, July the first, 1916.
It would be a tragic day,
It was the beginning of the Battle of the Somme
And hundreds of Newfounfdlanders with their lives would pay.

Beginning soon after midnight
Out of the trenches the Regiment climbed,
But the Germans, they were waiting
They were alerted by an exploding mine.

The forward trenches were blocked with bodies
The advance of the Essex Regiment was delayed,
The Newfoundlanders were forced to cross
The exposed front where barbed wire had been laid.

30 kilograms of equipment
They carried upon their backs,
They marched slowly, wave upon wave
With bayonets held high, they attacked.

Just up ahead the Germans were waiting
With their trigger-happy guns,
For the Blue Puttees to charge them
So they could kill our Newfoundland sons.

Few made it to the beginning
Of the Allied barbed wire,
Just 230 meters from the starting point
The Germans opened fired.

The Blue Puttees had to follow the lanes
Between precut, highted openings in the wire,
That were well covered by the enemy
With machine gun fire.

The equipment, it was heavy
The mud, it was deep;
The Germans with their deadly fire
Slaughtered the Blue Puttees like sheep.

The unwounded survivors crawled back to their trenches
While the stretcher bearers searched the bloody ground,
For the soldiers that were wounded
But mostly bodies of the dead could be found!

A wounded Newfoundlander crawled through the mud
With his hand, he held his stomach in,
His hand was full of guts and blood
But to death, he would not give in!

After the slaughter was over
68 Newfoundlanders answered the roll call,
From the Regiment of 800
732 fighting Newfoundlanders did fall!

Back home in Newfoundland
The tragic news was received,
About the bloodly slaughter
Of the Blue Puttees!

The people were in shock
And total disbelief,
How could such a thing happen?
Their hearts were filled with grief.

When the soldiers returned home
And touched the Newfoundland ground,
From all the people gathered there
No dry eyes could be found!

By: Yvonne Legge

It is copied and pasted as found.

chris vickery · #4 19-01-08, 01:25

We have a winner!

Paul, yes the "blue puttees" were the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. The animal was the caribou.

I couldn't resist bringing this up, as last evening I watched a most intriging program on the television. It was a documentary about them as they were formed at the beginning of the war and up until their tragic demise at Beaumont- Hamel.

In fact, I was most angered at the utter contempt for the "colonials", who in the eyes of our British masters, were simply used as cannon fodder for the greater good of the Empire.
The likes of Haig, in my opinion, should have been shot outright for sacrificing an entire regiment in light of his own arrogance and that of higher command who, after the bombardment, insisted that the information given them to be utter nonsense. It was stated that within hours, the regiment had been cut down from a strength or 801 men to 68 at morning roll call.

It is stories like these that make me proud to be a Canadian.

Barry Churcher · #5 19-01-08, 02:03

For one point, which famous Canadian regiment was know as the "blue puttees

Gosh Chris, you had better duck for incoming if there are any Newfoundlanders on this site. Newfoundland was a seperate country until midnight, March 31, 1949. Because of this I think Paul should give back the cherished first prize and you should ask another question.

Barry

Mike Timoshyk · #6 19-01-08, 03:14

Question:

What did and do Nflders celebrate on 1 July .....we all know that it is confederation day ....right?
cheers bye

Mike

chris vickery · #7 19-01-08, 03:34

No problem Barry.
One of the topics brought up on the program (Turning Points of History...) was the fact that Newfoundland never recovered after the First War due to the fact that Britain refused to dismiss any debt that they had accrued during the war and then the depression afterwards. They ended up losing their self-government to the Brisish for a time and then in 1949 had a referendum to leave as a British colony and join the Dominion of Canada. This was a less than ideal situation for them but in the end, joining Canada was the lesser of two evils so to speak...
Bottom line, the Newfs deserve a lot of credit for their heroism, sprit and determination in the face of adversary and I for one am proud to call them brothers.

Barry Churcher · #8 19-01-08, 04:40

Yes Chris, the Newfs sure got shabby treatment by Britain especially after they fought so bravely for the British Empire. The road to confederation certainly was a rough one and the referendums split family and friends. Joey Smallwood was a good salesman though and won in the end. It is said that a lot of women voted yes so they could order things "duty free" from the Eatons catalogue. Don't know if thats true or not but it sure makes for a good story. Thanks also to Paul for posting the poem which I have never seen before. The following is an interesting lament by a.b. Perlin after the signing of Confederation. Many people still think the same way today although with time it is not as prevalent.
Cheers,
Barry

On this day of final parting sad nostalgic
thoughts arise,
Thoughts to bring hot tears surging to the
Newfoundlander's eyes.

Thoughts that bring to mind the story of the
struggles of the past,
Of the men who built our island, nailed its colours to
the mast.

Sold by only half the people, all too willing
to deny
For illusionary profits what the future might
imply.

They have bought confederation paying in the
country's pride.
Let us hope their expectations will be amply
satisfied.

Those who lost the fight for freedom have the
greater pride this day,
Though their country's independence lies the victim
of the fray.

servicepub (RIP) · #9 19-01-08, 04:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Timoshyk
Question:

What did and do Nflders celebrate on 1 July .....we all know that it is confederation day ....right?
cheers bye

Mike

Beaumont Hamel of course.

PPS · #10 19-01-08, 11:25

Quote:

Gosh Chris, you had better duck for incoming if there are any Newfoundlanders on this site. Newfoundland was a seperate country until midnight, March 31, 1949.

Ah, but Barry,

Why do you think I also named the 48th Highlanders in my answer

Paul.

Barry Churcher · #11 19-01-08, 16:09

Okay Paul, I will agree with Chris.

We have a winner!

Now that Chris has started this what does the one point you have so knowledgeably won go toward? Will you get the 505 Jeep now or will you have to answer more questions?
Cheers,
Barry

chris vickery · #12 19-01-08, 19:27

Just like Air Miles Points Barry, you need a whole bunch of them and in the end they're not really worth anything...

PPS · #13 19-01-08, 23:26

And there was me expecting a mega-prize

Paul.