When World War 1 began, Newfoundland had been without any kind of military organization for almost half a century. Public-spirited citizens immediately formed themselves into a Patriotic Association and within sixty days had recruited, partially equipped, and dispatched 537 officers and men overseas. The Fighting Newfoundlander is a vivid history of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment - the "Blue Puttees"- and its heroic contributions to the war effort. Gerald Nicholson details the harrowing experiences of the Newfoundland Regiment at Gallipoli and later at Beaumont Hamel, where 710 of the 801 officers and men who took part in the assault died. He follows them to the Third Battle of Ypres and Cambrai, for which they were granted the title "Royal" - the only army unit to receive such a distinction during World War 1.