Trail of the Caribou

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This site exists to remember what Newfoundlanders accomplished in Foreign Wars and operations at home and abroad.

10/14/2026

Prized by Every Soldier: The Story of the Famous WW1 Newfoundland Soldier Socks

Sunday, November 8, 2026, 4:00 pm, St. Andrew’s Church, Queen’s Road, St. John’s.

One hundred years after the women of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church hosted a sock social to raise money and material for the war effort, a documentary film recognizing all of the Newfoundland and Labrador women behind the famous WW1 grey soldier socks will premiere on November 8 at this church of national historic significance in St John’s.

The Honourable Joan Marie Aylward, ONL, Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador and Honourary Colonel of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, was a strong supporter of the film’s development and will be in attendance for the screening.

While women played many important roles in the war effort, not all of their stories are well known. The Newfoundland Women’s Patriotic Association, 15,000 members strong, from across Newfoundland and Labrador, knit socks, mittens, hats, made shirts and put together sewing kits for the Newfoundland and Labrador men who served overseas in WW1. The famous grey wool socks they made have been immortalised by Tryphena and Margaret Duley in their book,” A Pair of Grey Socks”

Building on this legacy, the film looks at the stories these socks generated for soldiers and their families and introduces viewers to those keeping the knitting tradition alive today.

Photographer/videographer Peter G. Elliot of Cape Spear Productions and Director and Executive Producer, Michael Pretty of the Trail of the Caribou Research Group, gathered a large group of interested individuals to tell this story. Enlisting material from archives, experts in the field, modern day knitters and with help from partners NONIA, Christine Legrow and “The Grey Sock Project,” they have captured a vital piece of work done by the women of Newfoundland and Labrador to provide ‘comforts from home’ to those overseas.

A Question and Answer session with the filmmakers and film participants will follow the screening. A small reception will follow. Free Event.

10/10/2026

So much going on this week another set filming last night and recording the Narrator's lines one more set to fo then post production

10/07/2026

Another Fun Night.

10/06/2026

Prized by Every Soldier.
The Story of the NFLD Soldier Sock.

Lots of fun on the set tonight

09/22/2026

SINCE LATE JUNE WE HAVE BEEN POSTING A FIRST PERSON STORY ABOUT A R NFLD R SOLDIER BURIED IN Scotland.

YESTERDAY WE POSTED THE LAST ONE. Attached is a video we did in Scotland at the end of the memorial event. Here is some background to the project.

During the Great War the Newfoundland Regiment was stationed in various places in Scotland: Fort George, where they guarded a sea plane base and spent their first Christmas away; garrison duty at Edinburgh Castle, where they were the first non-highland unit to do so; Stobb’s Camp for training; and finally they established a Depot in Ayr and Paisley, where the administration, training and recovering and tending to injured and sick soldiers happened for most of the remainder of the War. There are 26 of the Regiment’s men buried in Scotland, 14 in Ayr and 3 in Paisley. The remainder are buried in 7 other cemeteries scattered over Scotland.
This summer marks the 110th anniversary of the Somme and the UK group Standing With Giants are creating a unique and very poignant method of remembrance. Here's a link to give you an idea of what the project is about. https://www.standingwithgiants.co.uk/ . and watch the video at https://youtu.be/lUFPnAcYetc A walk through the Field of Heros

Denise Mahoney, Newfoundland born researcher, writer, and historian with over 40 years of experience in historical and genealogical research, volunteering with Standing With Giants and Trail of the Caribou Research Group (TRCG) has recorded a short story of all of these 25 soldiers lives with the vision and goal to have relatives of these men read these stories and record them. The idea is to have the recordings completed by end May 2026. This July Standing with Giants will be erecting their silhouettes of WW1 soldiers in Ayr and people will be able to scan a QR Code or press a button and listen to the story of one of OUR soldiers recited in a relative’s voice.

It is also TCRG’s intent to recreate this idea in NL in 2027. Towns and community groups will be sent blueprints to create their own silhouettes and TCRG will send them narratives of soldiers and nurses from their area or town, and they can get relatives to record them and create as close to a living memorial as we can.

09/21/2026

todays NFLD soldier buried in Scotland

John Thomas Tobin - #1800

Age 19

My name is John Tobin. I was born in 1895 in Long Cove, Burin, Newfoundland. I was a fisherman. The days were long and the labour hard, but it was the only life I knew. By the time I was grown, my father was gone and my mother was a widow.

I enlisted with the Newfoundland Regiment in 1915. I was 19 years old. My mother was granted a small allowance after I enlisted. It was not much, but I hoped it would help her manage while I was away.

I left Newfoundland in October 1915. It was the first time I had ever gone so far from home. By November, I had arrived at Gailes Camp in Ayr, Scotland. Everything was different here, but I did my best to settle into military life. I never saw the battlefront. My war was shorter than I ever imagined.

In January 1916, I got sick. What began as measles turned into bronchial pneumonia, and I was admitted to Gailes Camp Hospital. I stayed there for six days. I grew weaker as each day passed. On February 1st 1916, after 155 days of service, I passed away.

I was buried in Ayr Cemetery, far from the sea I had known all my life. I did not fall in battle, but I gave what time I had.

I was a fisherman’s son, a soldier for a short while, and someone who did his best to answer the call to serve.

09/20/2026

today's NFLD Soldier buried in Scotalnd

James Henry Thorne - #1905

Age 18

My name is James Henry Thorne. I was born in 1897 in New Harbour, Trinity Bay, Newfoundland to William and Jessie Thorne. Before the war I worked as a fisherman, like many men from my community.

I enlisted with the Newfoundland Regiment in October 1915. I was 18 years old. I left Newfoundland later that same month.
I served for a short time, 133 days in total. During my service, I was sent overseas, but my time in uniform was marked by illness.

In February 1916, I was admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Paisley, suffering from measles and bronchial pneumonia. Despite treatment, my condition worsened.

I died there in February 1916. I was still far from home when my service ended. I was laid to rest at Hawkhead Cemetery. My name is remembered on the New Harbour War Memorial and on the commemorative stone at Ayr Cemetery.

Though my time in service was short, I gave it willingly.

Address

Logy Bay, NL

Telephone

+1 709-727-4674

Website

http://www.trailofthecaribou.ca/

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