Christopher J.A. Morry - When the Great Red Dawn Is Shining

WHEN THE GREAT
RED DAWN IS SHINING

CHRISTOPHER J. A. MORRY

WHEN THE GREAT
RED DAWN IS SHINING

Howard L. Morrys Memoirs of Life in the
Newfoundland Regiment

Compiled and edited by
CHRISTOPHER J. A. MORRY

Breakwater Books
PO Box 2188, St. Johns, NL, Canada A1C 6E6
www.breakwaterbooks.com

Copyright 2014 Christopher J. A. Morry

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Morry, Christopher, 1949-, author

When the great red dawn is shining: Howard Morrys memoirs of life
in the Newfoundland Regiment / Christopher Morry.
ISBN 978-1-55081-563-4 (bound)

1. Morry, Howard, 1885-1972. 2. Beaumont-Hamel, Battle of, Beaumont-Hamel,
France, 1916 Personal narratives, Canadian. 3. Beaumont-Hamel, Battle of,
Beaumont-Hamel, France, 1916 Personal narratives, British. 4. Somme, 1st
Battle of the, France, 1916 Personal narratives, Canadian. 5. Somme, 1st Battle
of the, France, 1916 Personal narratives, British. 6. Soldiers Newfoundland
and Labrador Biography. 7. Great Britain. Army. Newfoundland Regiment,
1st Biography. I. Morry, Howard, 1885-1972, author II. Title.
D640.M647M67 2014 940.481718 C2014-901926-2

Cover design: Rhonda Molloy
Interior design: John van der Woude Designs

Previous page: Shadow box of war memorabilia belonging to Howard Leopold Morry,
now in the possession of his grandson, Howard Glendon Morry.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent
of the publishers or a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency
(Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or
call toll-free to 1-800-893-5777.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year invested
$154 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country. We acknowledge
the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund and the Government
of Newfoundland and Labrador through the Department of Tourism, Culture and
Recreation for our publishing activities.

Printed and Bound in Canada.

Breakwater Books is committed to choosing papers and materials for our books that help
to protect our environment. To this end, this book is printed on a recycled paper that
is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

To those brave Newfoundland men of the RNR who
fought for King and Country in WWI for those who
died, and for those who came home wounded, more
often in mind and soul than in body.

When the great red dawn is shining,

When the waiting hours are past,

When the tears of night are ended

And I see the day at last,

I shall come down the road of sunshine,

To a heart that is fond and true,

When the great red dawn is shining,

Back to home, back to love, and you.

When the Great Red Dawn Is Shining

Lyrics by Edward Lockton and music by Evelyn Sharpe

Contents

Preface

14 Postscript

A book such as this, built upon the written recollections of one man, depended upon the labours of many people to make its publication a reality. Howard Leopold Morry (Dad Morry) was a prodigious diarist. We, his children and grandchildren, are fortunate to have discovered and preserved many, though not all, of his diaries. Some were lost or destroyed many years ago, but what we do have fills twenty-two notebooks and a number of lengthy letters to his children. Over the years, a number of us have dedicated our time to transcribe these diaries so they can be better preserved and shared. The work is still not complete. Those who have participated in this task up until now include my late cousin, Jamie Morry, my cousin Karen Chapman (ne Funkhouser), and my brother Glen and I. We also owe a debt of gratitude to an unfortunately anonymous librarian at the Provincial Library (now the A. C. Hunter Library) in St. Johns who was the first to begin the task of transcribing and recording, on a manual typewriter, one of the most crucial war diaries sometime in the early 1960s. Our late aunt Elsie Ranger (ne Morry) and my cousin Howie Morry, Jamies brother, have also been the careful custodians of a number of these diaries, and my cousin, Fredi Caines (ne Mercer), is the custodian and protector of a large collection of Dad Morrys photos and memorabilia. Our late aunt, Jean Funkhouser (ne Morry), Karens mother, not only preserved a number of the diaries, but was also inspired by Dad Morry to become the first in the family to make a dedicated effort to research and record the family history, including the larger-than-life role he played in it.

Staff at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland, the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador (now a division of The Rooms), and Library and Archives Canada all provided invaluable assistance in completing the background research needed to compile the historical facts mentioned in my explanatory notes.

Three authors of books previously published on the topic of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in World War One Gary Browne, Bert Riggs, and Frank Gogos discussed the concept of this book with me and offered constructive ideas and great encouragement to pursue the goal of seeing Dad Morrys memoirs published. Graham Skanes, Chair of the Museum Committee of the RNR Museum in St. Johns, also assisted with conflicts between Dad Morrys account and the historical record.

Larry Coady, a very good friend and frequent hiking companion and also, happily, a past president of the Newfoundland Historical Society, kindly accepted the task of providing preliminary editorial comments.

The many volunteers who have contributed countless hours of their time to assemble military and historical information freely available on the Newfoundlands Grand Banks website deserve many thanks for facilitating this research.

For a first time author, the constant assistance, thoroughly professional advice and kind consideration offered by Rebecca Rose, president and publisher, James Langer, managing editor, and Rhonda Molloy, graphic design specialist, at Breakwater Books has made this journey not only much easier but also a truly enjoyable experience.

It is a universal truth that the preparation of a book, even one already drafted in large measure by another person, requires a great deal of time time stolen from ones own family. Therefore I owe a special thanks to my wife, Jamie, and our children Nicola, Prema, and Bryan who consistently encouraged me in this endeavour.

The awesome and terrible events of WWI that ultimately led to Newfoundlands first Regiment having bestowed upon it the title of Royal by King George v have been told and retold countless times. For the average Newfoundlander, even for young people three generations removed from the actual events, these images are vivid, though obviously not as indelibly imprinted in their minds as they were in the minds of those who fought and suffered on the fields of battle in Gallipoli, France, and Belgium.