The danger tree is shown in this archival photo on the battlefield at Beaumont-Hamel in France. Many soldiers with the Newfoundland Regiment died or were wounded near the danger tree in the First World War. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout-Thomas Nangle Collection (Coll-308), Archives and Special Collections, Memorial University Libraries (Mandatory Credit)
Danger tree installation in France marks ‘futility of loss’ for Newfoundland Regiment
Jun 30, 2026 | 10:19 AM
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ST. JOHN’S — A monument honouring a dark day in Newfoundland and Labrador history will be installed today at the site of a devastating First World War battle in northern France.
On July 1, 1916, hundreds of soldiers with the Newfoundland Regiment were killed or wounded in the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, many at the foot of a tree about halfway between the British and German trenches.
A replica of the so-called danger tree is set to be permanently installed today at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial.
Historian Frank Gogos is in France for the event with Veterans Affairs Canada, and he says the marker is an important reminder of the “futility of loss” in war.
