Language selection


Search veterans.gc.ca

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Gerald Ayre

In memory of:

Second Lieutenant Gerald Ayre

July 1, 1916

Military Service


Age:

25

Force:

Army

Unit:

Royal Newfoundland Regiment

Additional Information


Son of Frederick William and Mary Julia Ayre, of St. John's, Newfoundland. His cousin, Bernard Pitts Ayre, also died at Beaumont-Hamel on the same date.

Commemorated on Page 9 of the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

BEAUMONT-HAMEL (NEWFOUNDLAND) MEMORIAL
Somme, France

Grave Reference:

N/A

Location:

The largest of the battlefield parks established in memory of Newfoundlanders who fell in the First World War is Beaumont Hamel, nine kilometres directly north of the town of Albert. In BEAUMONT HAMEL MEMORIAL PARK, which was officially opened by Earl Haig on June 7, 1925, the monument of the great bronze caribou, emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, stands on the highest point overlooking St John's Road and the slopes beyond. At the base of the statue three tablets of bronze carry the names of over 800 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, and the Mercantile Marine who gave their lives in the First World War and have no known grave. In the lodge, which houses the reception room for visitors to the Park, a bronze plaque, unveiled in 1961 by the Hon. Joseph Smallwood, Premier of Newfoundland, lists the Battle Honours won by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and pays tribute to its fallen. The park is one of the few in France or Belgium where the visitor can see a Great War battlefield much as it was. The actual trenches are still there and something of the terrible problem of advancing over such country can be appreciated by the visitor. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, no unit suffered heavier losses than the Newfoundland Regiment, which had gone into action 801 strong. When the roll call of the unwounded was taken next day, only 68 answered their names. The final figures that revealed the virtual annihilation of the Battalion gave a grim count of 233 killed or dead of wounds, 386 wounded, and 91 missing. Every officer who went forward in the Newfoundland attack was either killed or wounded.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial– Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Caribou at Beaumont-Hamel (Newfoundland) Memorial– Caribou at Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial ... photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Newspaper Clipping– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of GERALD AYRE– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of GERALD AYRE– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Inscription– Inscription - Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Caribou at Beaumont-Hamel (Newfoundland) Memorial– Caribou - Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • BEAUMONT-HAMEL (NEWFOUNDLAND) MEMORIAL– Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Photo of Gerald and his cousin Bernard– Picture of Gerald (left) and his cousin Bernard Pitts Ayre (right).  Bernard also died at Beaumont-Hamel on the same date.
  • Photo of Gerald Ayre– Gerald Ayre, son of Frederick William and Mary Julia Ayre of St. John's,
Newfoundland. Killed at age 25. Four members of the Ayre Family of St. John's were killed in action at the Battle of Somme on July 1, 1916.       He is commemorated at the Beaumont-Hamel Memorial, France.
  • Inscription on Beaumont Hamel Memorial
  • Photo of Gerald Ayre– Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

Date modified: