When Great Britain declared war on Germany on August 4,1914, she was quick to call on her overseas empire for volunteers. In spite of the fact that it had no militia or garrison of solders, The Dominion of Newfoundland was among the first to respond.

Although the first five hundred, who sailed from St. John’s on October 4,1914, after just six weeks of training, were mainly from the Capital city and surrounding areas, hundreds of young men were now arriving daily from all regions of the island and Labrador.

Among those to answer the call was my uncle and namesake Moses Ingram. The son of Henry and Mary Ann (Pafford) Ingram, Mose was born and raised in the tiny community of Corney’s Cove, on Long Island in Placentia Bay. In 1914 its population was comprised of three families and approximately twenty souls.

In the fall of 1914, Mose arrived in St. John’s with a group of friends from other communities in the area, and joined the Newfoundland Regiment, now nicknamed “The Blue Puttees” because there being no khaki available, puttees were made from blue broadcloth. The regiment soon distinguished themselves in battle after battle. Later King George V would bestow upon the military unit the title “Royal”, and thus The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the name by which we know them today, was born.

My uncle was wounded in battle in 1917, and on March 16 of that year, he made his transition to that greater life. Mose is buried in France, far from family and friends and the tiny fishing community which he called home.