NEWFOUNDLAND 120 1919 6c GREY TRAIL OF THE CARIBOU MONCHY CP14.0x13.9 MPH CV$30

Six cent value from the 'Trail of the Caribou' issue of 1919, grey, engraved, no watermark, comb perf 14.0x13.9. Excellent color and appearance, well centered for this issue. Approx. 30% of original gum disturbed by previous hinging. Sound, fault-free example of this iconic Newfoundland stamp.

Stamp shown is a good representative of those that are available. If the stamp received fails to meet expectations, it may be returned for a replacement or full refund.

Recess printed from engraved plates on relatively thin but opaque, crisp, white wove paper with horizontal mesh, slightly off- white (almost colorless) gum. Varieties of the 15c stamp are known printed with colored through analine ink and a printing on very porous paper has also been reported. The designs in this issue were printed with very narrow margins resulting in perforations cutting into one or more sides on most stamps.. Stamps with perforations clear of the design on all sides may be considered very fine for this issue.

This very popular series was issued to commemorate the services of the Newfoundland contingent in WWI. Eight of the stamps commemorate a specific engagement in which the Royal Newfoundland Regiment participated. The 4 values with "Ubique" ("everywhere") honor the especially heavy sacrifices of the Naval Forces - Newfoundland lost more sailors during WWI than all other British colonies combined.

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 led the Government of Newfoundland to recruit a force for service with the British Army. The first contingent of 500 volunteers from Newfoundland joined the convoy transporting the 1st CEF Contingent as it passed Newfoundland to England in October 1914. Where it became the 1st Newfoundland Regiment the regiment serving with the British Army for the duration of the war. The regiment saw bloody service at both Gallipoli and Egypt before transferring to the Western Front where on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, July 1st 1916, the 801 man regiment was decimated at Beaumont Hamel only 68 survivors not being killed or wounded. For its gallant service King George V granted the prefix ?Royal? to the regiment in February 1918, the only regiment in the British Empire to be so honored during WWI. The regiment trained at various locations in the United Kingdom and increased from an initial contingent of 500 men to full battalion strength of 1,000 men, before being deployed to Gallipoli in September of 1915. The regiment landed at Suvla Bay. Over the next three months thirty soldiers of the regiment were killed or mortally wounded in action and ten died of disease; 150 were treated for frostbite and exposure. Despite the terrible conditions, the Newfoundlanders stood up well. When the decision was made to evacuate all British Empire forces from the area, the regiment was chosen to be a part of the rearguard, finally withdrawing from Gallipoli with the last of the troops on 9 January 1916. In France, the regiment regained battalion strength in preparation for the Battle of the Somme. The regiment, still with the 29th British Division, went into the line in April 1916. At 8:45 a.m. on July 1st 1916 the Newfoundland Regiment and 1st Battalion of the British Essex Regiment received orders to move forward. Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Lovell Hadow, the battalion commander, decided to move immediately into attack formation and advance across the surface. They were effectively the only troops moving on the battlefield and clearly visible to the German defenders. 22 officers and 758 other ranks were directly involved in the advance. Of these, all the officers and slightly under 658 other ranks became casualties. Of the 780 men who went forward only about 110 survived unscathed, of whom only 68 were available for roll call the following day. For all intents and purposes the Newfoundland Regiment had been wiped out, the unit as a whole having suffered a casualty rate of approximately 90%. In recognition of the unit's valour during the later battles at Ypres in 1917, King George V bestowed the regiment with the prefix "Royal" on 28 September 1917, renaming them as the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.