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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

William Joseph Ryan

In memory of:

Corporal William Joseph Ryan

July 1, 1916

Military Service


Service Number:

133

Age:

25

Force:

Army

Unit:

Royal Newfoundland Regiment

Additional Information


Son of William and Catherine Ryan, of Southside West, St. John's.

Commemorated on Page 110 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

  • Photo of WILLIAM JOSEPH RYAN– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of W.J. Ryan– Son of William and Catherine Ryan of Southside West, St. John's,
Newfoundland
  • The Danger Tree– It was erected in remembrance of those Newfoundlanders that died on
that fateful day of July 1, 1916 at Beaumont Hamel during the First
World War. Other Newfoundlanders who died on July 1, 1916 are also commemorated on this site.
  • The Trenches– The Trenches of Beaumont-Hamel
  • Beaumont-Hamel Memorial
  • Entrance
  • Inscription on Beaumont-Hamel Memorial
  • Royal Newfoundland Regiment Insignia– In memory of the men who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I and did not return home.
  • Photo of WILLIAM JOSEPH RYAN– In memory of the men who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I and did not return home.
  • Biography– In memory of the men who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during World War I and did not return home.

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.

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