The Blue Puttees
Duration: 57 minutes, 30 seconds ($12.00)
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or 120 minutes ($14.00)
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First Released: 1992 • Read (1 hour) Script (PDF) • Read (2 hour) Script (PDF)
There is a remarkable story that comes out of the history of the First World War – the story of a regiment from Newfoundland that earned itself the reputation as one of the best fighting Forces of the "war to end all wars." Yet, how little Canadians really know of this amazing group of volunteer soldiers, who travelled to the battlefields of France in 1916 as virtual unknowns and returned in 1918 with the respect of the world.
This documentary tells the story of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment – of its beginnings as a band of volunteers, who quite literally started with nothing to build themselves into a properly equipped battalion; of its initiation into the rigours of trench warfare in Gallipoli; of its near annihilation at the tragic and bungled Battle of Beaumont Hamel in France; of its regrouping to distinguish itself in other significant battles throughout the war; and of what was perhaps the ultimate honour – the awarding of the prefix "Royal" to the regiment by the British War Office before the war was even over.
Awards:
- Grand & Gold Awards - 1993 Questar Awards (New York)
- Best Documentary (Feature Length) - 9th Annual Television Movie Awards (New Jersey)
- Silver Award - 1995 Worldfest-Charleston (South Carolina)
- Bronze Plaque - 40th Columbus International Film & Video Festival (Ohio)