Father Thomas Nagle 

Dear friends;

The years 2014-2018 and beyond mark the one hundredth anniversary of World War I, “the war to end all wars.” Many of us aware and still proud of the importance and value of the contributions made by Newfoundlanders who served in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, The Royal Naval Reserve (Newfoundland), The Mercantile Marine, the Newfoundland Forestry Corps, the Royal Flying Corps and other allied fighting units, the Volunteer Aid Detachments, the nursing sisters and, on the home front, the Newfoundland Patriotic Association, which included the mothers of “our boys,” who rolled bandages, picked and packaged moss for First Aid, knitted socks and mufflers and wrote so many supportive and loving letters.

Many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not as aware of the role played by Lt. Col. (Padre) Thomas Nangle, Chaplain to the Forces, who served with dedication and distinction as chaplain to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. After the war, Lt. Col. Nangle served as Newfoundland’s representative on the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission. As Director of War Graves Registration and Enquiries and Battle Exploit Memorials, he supervised the identification of the remains of as many Newfoundlanders as possible, and their re-interment in the beautiful military cemeteries which now mark the “Trail of the Caribou” in Europe. Indeed, that very “Trail of the Caribou,” and in a very special way the Beaumont Hamel Park, was Padre Nangle’s idea. He was also instrumental in the completion of the Newfoundland National War Memorial on Water Street in St. John’s.

The people of the Roman Catholic Church in Newfoundland and Labrador have a story to tell. The Basilica Museum Committee will organize and present an exhibit that will allow us to tell that story. We will house this exhibit in the Basilica Museum, next-door to the Basilica of St. John the Baptist in St. John’s. For the next five years and beyond, we will tell the story of the brave Newfoundlanders from harbours, bights, coves and towns who served in World War I. And we will tell that story through the lens of one of “ours,” Lt. Col. (Padre) Thomas Nangle, C.F., who was a priest of the Archdiocese, and served at St. Patrick’s, Bell Island and St. Thomas of Villanova. He was known as “the heart and soul of the Regiment.” To do this, we need your help. If you or your family has letters, pictures, artifacts, memorabilia of the Catholic Cadet Corps, or other material that you would be willing to lend to us during this centenary commemoration, we would be honoured to receive these. We will treasure your material, be good stewards of it, catalogue it and make it a part of our re-telling this wonderful and inspiring story. We will return your property to you when we have finished displaying it.

Father Nangle dedicated his life, in the years immediately following the Great War, to honouring the memory of his fallen and living brothers and sisters in arms. He would be the last to glorify war. He saw too much of its traumatic effect. In mounting this exhibit, we wish not to glorify war, but to honour the memory of veterans and their families. They are “ours,” these daughters and sons. “Ours” deserve to be remembered. In re-telling their stories, they continue to live, and we are once again enriched.
If you have material that you would be willing to lend to this project, please contact the archives of the Archdiocese of St. John’s. Rene Estrada, our Archivist, will be happy to talk with you and discuss how best to treasure and exhibit your material. Rene’s e-mail isrestrada@nf.aibn.com, and his phone number is 709-726-3660 (ext. 223).

If you have material that you would be willing to lend to this project, please contact the archives of the Archdiocese of St. John’s. Rene Estrada, our Archivist, will be happy to talk with you and discuss how best to treasure and exhibit your material. Rene’s e-mail isrestrada@nf.aibn.com, and his phone number is 709-726-3660 (ext. 223).

This is “our” story. We tell it with pride and gratitude. I thank you in advance for any contribution that you can make to this project.

In Christ,

Archbishop Currie

View Biography of Father Thomas Nagle