Where Once They Stood, We Stand

Although both sides of my family have a long history in Newfoundland, my parents were transferred to the mainland in 1967, when I was a boy of eight, and I did not live in Newfoundland and Labrador again until ten years ago when I returned to open The Rooms, nearly 40 years later.  And while I have always been well aware of my Newfoundland roots, finding my great-uncle, Saul Keefe, in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldiers' files at The Rooms has had a profound effect on how I see my family history and the importance of the work that we do at The Rooms. 

Saul was the eldest of four children who were orphaned when their parents, my great-grandparents Rosanna (Dalley) and Samson Keefe, died in their mid 30s. The family lived in Indian Cove, just outside of Twillingate, their ancestors having settled in Little Harbour. Great-uncle Saul enlisted in the Newfoundland Regiment and arranged to send half of his pay back to his brother and sisters but the support didn't last for long. On April 14, 1917, Saul was captured at Monchy le Preux and died of his wounds four days later, one of 166 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment to be killed at Monchy. 

There are so many stories of what happened in the battlefields of France and Belgium and of how the First World War affected the economy and political climate of Newfoundland. But it is the personal stories that The Rooms will be telling when we open the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Gallery this coming July 1st, the 100th anniversary of Beaumont-Hamel - the ones that make us who we are. 

When I found Saul Keefe's grave in France three years ago, I wondered whether he might have ever thought that his little sister would have a grandson or daughter that would remember him in a hundred years. The idea that he might have, and that it might have given him a moment of comfort, is a moment of comfort for me. 

I know that the donors who have contributed $10 million towards our efforts to commemorate the centenary of the First World War - Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, Fortis Inc., the Patten Family Foundation, TD Bank Group, Tom and Susan Foran and others to be announced in the months ahead are comforted to be a part of our efforts to remember them at The Rooms. 

Please join us as we do our best to honour those to whom we owe so much.