Danger Tree, Beaumont-Hamel, France, 1989
The Battle Of The Somme opened on July 1, 1916. It was here that many
young Newfoundlanders passed by on their way to slaughter by German machine
guns. Many of those killed now rest in the Y Ravine cemetery seen in the
background of the photograph. The Danger Tree (represented by the dead trunk
on the right side of the image) and the Y Ravine cemetery are located in
a special park dedicated to Newfoundlanders, near Beaumont-Hamel in France.
Following is an email (Sat, 18 Oct 1997) from:
"Mark A. Brennan" <mbrennan@atcon.com>
Hillcrest studio, WHITEHILL, N.S
Hi there Harry,
My name is Mark Brennan, I live in Nova Scotia, your webb site is excellent. Its very much needed. Like you I am also a working artist. I was drawn to your section on Canadian War memorials. I visited most of them during 1995. A very emotional visit. I was at Beaumont Hamel around July 1st 1995 and wrote the following poem. I am sending you this because you seem to be the kind of person that would appreciate it from a Canadians point of view. As it is a major part of Canadian heritage. Its short, feel free to include it in your webbsite if you wish. I was compelled to paint whilst in these places to but it takes a long time to come to terms with seeing these things, so, for that reason I have only produced 2.
July 1st At St Johns' Road 27th December 1996
Sheep now graze where the Newfoundlanders' fell
Crossing the great divide, cut down
Trapped, by wire in the land of no-man,
It has gone now-rusted away, our boys released at last
We see the Danger Tree still stands
Pointing to one place of many
Where mens blood ran in wretched disbelief
Gone now their chances "To kill the stinking bastards that killed our
mates"
But we who are here cannot feel the rage of battle
We may walk, imagine think, see and smell
See the white headstones turn yellow with age
And wonder what it was like to be
In such a desperate place - Somme, 80 years ago today
Grass has grown over fields, wounds covered now
Shut in like a skin, the scars though can still be seen
Trenches, shell holes and spirits of men long gone
Ensure you - the visitor
Will stay within your domain, and do not cross the great divide
Where dead rest within their nameless graves.
thanks for the great site
regards to you
mark brennan