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Preface This volume has a twofold purpose. The first is to chronicle briefly the military operations of the heroic, fighting battalion that represented Newfoundland among the gallant and victorious troops of the British Empire in the greatest war of history, and to illustrate its persistent gallantry and splendid achievements by reference in each chapter to conspicuous individual heroism. The second purpose is to put in compact form and within reach of the public the individual military records of the first contingent which embarked from Saint John’s on the most solemn duty that has ever been thrust upon our country. The latter purpose has been greatly facilitated by the data available at the Militia Department. The task of procuring individual pictures of the men of the first contingent, which would add meaning and individuality to each record has, however, been a most difficult one. Only slightly less difficult has been the task of getting proper information regarding the various engagements in which our Regiment took part. The work has necessitated scores of interviews, and a continual search for scraps of information wherever it could be found. This work does not profess, however, to be a detailed record of the whole of the movements and a complete description of every engagement of the Regiment. Many readers may be fortunate enough to be able to supplement some of the descriptions or movements with interesting information already in their possession These, however, will be comparatively few. The hope is that the information contained herein will become general, especially among the young people of our country, who, when reading of heroes and heroic accomplishments, will not forget the heroes of their own country. R. C. Page Two SERGEANT RICKETTS, V.C. PRIVATE T. RICKETTS Private T. Ricketts was awarded the VICTORIA CROSS for most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on October 14, 1918. During the advance from Ledgehem, the attack was temporarily held up by heavy hostile fire, and the platoon to which he belonged suffered severe casualties from the fire of a battery at point blank range. Private Ricketts at once volunteered to go forward with his Section Commander and a Lewis Gun to attempt to outflank the battery. They advanced by short rushes while subject to severe fire from enemy machine guns. When 300 yards away, their ammunition gave out. The enemy, seeing an opportunity to get their field guns away, began to bring up their gun teams. Private Ricketts at once realized the situation. He doubled back 100 yards, procured some ammunition and dashed back to the Lewis gun, and by very accutate fire drove the enemy and their gun teams into a farm. His platoon then advanced without casualties, and captured four field guns, four machine guns and eight prisoners. A fifth field gun was subsequently intercepted by fire and captured. By his presence of mind in anticipation of the enemy intention and his utter disregard for personal safety, Private Ricketts secured the further supplies of ammunition which directly resulted in these important captures and undoubltedly saved many lives. Page Three PART I Historical Sketch of the Military Operations of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Page Four Click here to continue Return to the First 500 Index

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Military Records Contact: Daniel B. Breen

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