Battle of the Somme 100 year anniversary

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ITV REPORT 27 June 2016 at 4:14pm

This week marks 100 years since the start of one of the bloodiest battles of World War One, the Battle of the Somme.
The first day, July 1st 1916, remains the costliest in British history, with almost 20 thousand men killed and 40 thousand wounded. All this week ITV Border is looking at the stories of some of the soldiers from this region who took part in the battle.
It was fought along a 15 mile section of the western front in Northern France, close to the town of Albert, as an attempt to bring about a breakthrough in the two-year conflict, which had become bogged down in trench warfare.
For almost a week before the attack the British artillery shelled the German trenches, trying to weaken their defences. But most of the Germans survived by hiding in underground bunkers. So when the attack started at 7.30 that morning the British soldiers going over the top from the trenches were walking straight into the German machine guns and rifles.
Among them were men from the Border Regiment, which recruited heavily from the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland.

 

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David Johnston from Carlisle Credit: ITV BorderStuart Eastwood, Curator of Cumbria's Museum of Military Life, says the 1st Battalion suffered huge losses on the first day of the battle.
"They were met with a hail of machine gun fire and within half an hour they lost 20 officers and 619 other ranks out of the 800 odd that took part."
Across the battlefield the Somme was to become synonymous with slaughter on a huge scale.
Among those who fought and died in large numbers were men from the so-called Pals battalions, often friends who joined up together from the same towns and villages. One was the Lonsdale Battalion of the Border Regiment.
Of the 800 men from the Lonsdale Battalion who went into battle on the 1st July more than 500 were killed or wounded. Many are buried here in the Lonsdale Cemetery, close to where the fighting took place.
One of them was David Johnston from Granville Road in Carlisle.
"He was a painter and decorator," says Mr. Eastwood. "A couple of kids, looked after his mum and dad, no reason to join up really but he did. He died on the 10th of July from the wounds he received on the 1st."

David Johnston Credit: ITV BorderFighting alongside the Border Regiment were men from the Kings Own Scottish Borderers, the local regiment for the south of Scotland. Its first battalion had about 550 casualties within the first hour due to the heavy German machine gun fire. Many of them came from the south of Scotland, where the local communities were hit badly by the loss of life.

"I think it was devastating. We recruited of course right the way from Portpatrick to Berwick. It must have been absolutely ghastly, terrible."
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– MAJOR IAN GIBBS FORMER KOSB

Headstones marking those lost at the Somme Credit: ITV BorderAlthough much of the focus about the battle surrounds the terrible loss of life on the first day, it actually continued until November. One of the area's of heavy fighting later in July was known by the British as High Wood, where the Kings Own Scottish Borderers were again in the thick of the action.
It was here that Major Gibb's uncle, Captain Alick Young-Herries, who lived near Castle Douglas, was killed.
"They were ordered to come forward and from these trenches launch an attack against the enemy, but there were so many when the battalion came forward to this trench that the commanding officer said get back because they couldn't get forward because of the machine gun fire. At that point my uncle went along, collected his men, and while he was doing that he was killed by an artillery shell."

Captain Young-Herries Credit: ITV BorderCaptain Young-Herries, who lived near Castle Douglas, is buried in a nearby cemetery.
By the end of the battle small gains had been made but more than a million men on both sides were dead or wounded and the Somme would forever be a byword for the huge cost of war.
Maj. Gibbs says, "It's so important that we never forget and we always remember what they did for us."

 

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[FONT=&quot]British troops negotiate a trench in the village of Morval during the 1916 Battle of the Somme.



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[FONT=&quot]Soldiers gather around a tank during the Battle of the Somme which lasted for 141 days.



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[FONT=&quot]British soldiers negotiate a shell-cratered landscape along the River Somme in late 1916. On the first day of the conflict almost 20,000 British Empire troops died.



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[FONT=&quot]French soldiers dressed in sheepskins pass the time by playing cards while manning a trench during the four month conflict. The date is unknown.
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103rd (Tyneside Irish) Brigade, part of the 34th Division, advancing from the Tara-Usna Line to attack la Boisselle on the morning of July 1, 1916.

Field Marshal Douglas Haig, Commander in Chief of the British Forces on the Western Front during the First World War, in 1922. The huge casualties that his military strategy produced has made him a controversial figure.

British troops man a shallow trench during the infamous battle - the bloodiest of the First World War.

The scene of complete devastation in one of the German trenches at Guillemont during the Battle of the Somme.

 

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[FONT=&quot]A family photo of second lieutenant Norman Watson (right) who fought in the Durham Light Infantry during the First World War aged 19.




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[FONT=&quot]Troops of the 10th (Service) Battalion (1st Hull), East Yorkshire Regiment marching to the trenches near Doullens, 28 June 1916.




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[FONT=&quot]Row upon row of gravestones of soldiers who lost their lives during the Battle of the Somme at Delville Wood cemetery in Longueval, France.




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[FONT=&quot]Grave of an unknown British soldier near Ginchy, Northern France in 1916.
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Still from the film The Battle of the Somme, shot during the 1916 conflict. The image is among many released by the Imperial War Museum which is launching its "Real to Reel: A Century of War Movies" exhibition from July 1 until January 8. The exhibition is a behind the scenes look at some of this century’s iconic war films.

Invitation card to a screening of the film 'Battle of the Somme', at the Scala Theatre, Charlotte Street, London, August 1916. The film was shot by two official cinematographers and filmed the British Army in the preliminary and early days of the Battle of the Somme.




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[FONT=&quot]Devastation caused by bitter fighting (not artillery fire), Waterlot Farm, near Guillemont, Somme, France, 11 September 1916



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[FONT=&quot]A horse-drawn limber takes ammunition to the forward guns along the Lesboeufs Road, outside Flers, in November 1916 during the final stages of the Somme offensive.
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Battle of Bazentin Ridge. Regimental pipe band of the 8th Battalion, Black Watch playing in Carnoy Valley after the 26th Brigade, 9th Division came back from the capture of Longueval on 14 July 1916.

Still from the film The Battle of the Somme showing a British soldier carrying a wounded comrade back from the front line. The scene is generally accepted as having been filmed on the first day of the battle, 1 July 1916.

Still from the film The Battle of the Somme allegedly showing British troops advancing at the start of the battle on 1 July 1916. It is now accepted that this scene was staged for the camera at a training school behind the lines.



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[FONT=&quot]Troops of the French 201st Infantry Regiment coming back from the front line in a photograph taken near Bronfay Farm, Bray, on 23 September 1916.



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[FONT=&quot]Wounded British soldiers at an advanced dressing station behind the Somme front in 1916.
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[FONT=&quot]A poster produced by Her Majesty's Stationery Office appealing for 100,000 men to join the First World War campaign.



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[FONT=&quot]A wounded German prisoner of war assisting British soldiers on the Somme front in July 1916.




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[FONT=&quot]Troops are pictured in a support trench during the Battle of the Somme.



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[FONT=&quot]A family photo of second lieutenant Norman Watson who fought in the Durham Light Infantry during the First World War aged 19.




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[FONT=&quot]Photo of members of the Protestant 36 (Ulster) Division who took part in the 1916 battle.




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[FONT=&quot]Women are pictured working in a British munitions factory in 1916.
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A welcome rest: Exhausted soldiers of the 9th Rifle Brigade take a break — and a chance to have a smoke — in a field away from the front line. From left, Second Lieutenant Walter Elliott, who was killed on November 20, 1916, Second Lieutenant Roger Kirkpatrick, wounded (date unknown), Captain Herbert Garton, who was killed on September 15, 1916, Lieutenant Evelyn Southwell, killed on September 15, 1916, and Second Lieutenant Herman Kiek, wounded on April 27, 1918. Southwell told his mother in a letter he was so tired he fell asleep while marching

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A chance to wash: Officers of the 9th Rifle Brigade bathing in a stream behind the lines are (from left, excluding obscured faces): Captain Arthur Mckinstry — wounded, Second Lieutenant William Hesseltine, killed August 21, 1916, Captain William Purvis, wounded September 15, 1916, Second Lieutenant Joseph Buckley, killed December 23, 1917, Lieutenant Morris Heycock, wounded August 22, 1916, Captain Eric Parsons, killed September 15, 1916, Second Lieutenant Sidney Smith (in background) killed August 25, 1916, and Second Lieutenant Walter Elliott, killed November 20, 1916



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Facing the future: Smiling confidently in their trench beneath a clear blue springtime sky are two officers of the 11th Royal Fusiliers: Lieutenant Richard Hawkins, left, was wounded in February, 1917, during the final push on the Somme prior to German evacuation. Second Lieutenant George Cornaby, right, was killed on September 23, 1918, only weeks before the end of the war

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A picnic in the sunshine: Officers of the 1/4th East Yorkshire Regiment enjoy an alfresco lunch beside their tents. Captain William Batty, right, died on October 25, 1916. A note on the rear of the photograph confirms the other unidentified men did not survive the war

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Knee-deep in mud: Wading through a trench on the Somme are Major Beauchamp Magrath (left) of the 8th East Lancashire Regiment, killed on June 2, 1916, and Captain Paul Hammond, right, who died on February 25, 1916. The other two soldiers are not identified



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Meeting the locals: Second Lieutenant Eric Anderson, left, of the 1/6th Seaforth Highlanders, takes time out to chat to a woman in the small hamlet of Bouzincourt. He was killed on November 13, 1916, at the storming of the village Beaumont Hamel which had been occupied by the Germans for two years

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Keeping up appearances: Captain John Macdougall, of the 1/6th Seaforth Highlanders, has a morning shave in a trench near the village of Autuille in late 1915 — he was wounded early the following year



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Waiting for the storm: The seated man (left) is Lance Corporal Andrew Blackstock, of the 1/6th Seaforth Highlanders, who was wounded three times but survived the war. Captain William Johnson (right), of the 18th Manchester Regiment, was photographed by a friend on the afternoon of July 1, 1916, walking along a captured German trench. He was killed six hours later

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Keeping guard: The man leaning in the doorway is Captain Richard Vaughan Thompson, of the 11th Royal Fusiliers, who was killed in the attack on Thiepval on September 26, 1916



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[h=2]They shall not grow old: The Queen attends overnight Somme vigil as Kate, Wills and Harry pay their respects in France to soldiers killed 100 years ago on bloodiest-ever day in British military history[/h]

The Royal Family tonight led the nation in commemorating the thousands of troops who lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh joined a congregation for a moving service at Westminster Abbey, along with Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha. In France, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined by Prince Harry for a vigil at the Thiepval Memorial, where the 70,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave are commemorated. The moving services come on the eve of the centenary of the start of the Somme offensive. On July 1, 1916, following a seven-day British bombardment, some 120,000 men clambered from their trenches and went 'over the top' - to be met by a hail of German machine-gun fire that mowed down half of them. With 20,000 dead and 40,000 wounded, it was the bloodiest single day in British military history.

 

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were on hand to lead tributes to those who lost their lives at the Battle of the Somme

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Soldiers attend the service in France. With 20,000 dead and 40,000 wounded, the Battle of the Somme was the bloodiest single day in British military history

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Attendees, including Chelsea Pensioners, pose during part of a military-led vigil to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme

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Prince Harry, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Cambridge watch on as a service is played out in Thiepval, France

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The moving services come on the eve of the centenary of the start of the Somme offensive. On July 1, 1916, following a seven-day British bombardment, some 120,000 men clambered from their trenches and went 'over the top'

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The Royal Family led the nation in commemorating the thousands of troops who lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, attend part of a military-led vigil to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme



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Soldiers take part in a vigil at the the Stone of Remembrance as part of the Commemoration of the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme

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The Duchess of Cambridge listens carefully during a memorial service in France, while similar events were held across the Channel

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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a moving service at Westminster Abbey, one of many events being held in memory of the fallen soldiers

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Five civilians and five members of the military undertake a Vigil at Grave of the Unknown Warrior inside Westminster Abbey

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Military personnel read extracts from letters during part of a military-led vigil to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme

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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh were among the dignitaries to attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, along with several politicians and party leaders

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New Zealand Army Chief Peter Kelly walks through grave stones at Thiepval Memorial, northern France, where a special service was held



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Speakers amongst the war graves during part of a military-led vigil paying respect to those who lost their lives a hundred years ago

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Soldiers take part in a vigil at the the Stone of Remembrance at Thiepval, which reads: 'Their name liveth for evermore'

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The Thiepval Memorial, which commemorates those who died at the Battle of the Somme. By the end of the four-month battle in northern France, more than a million soldiers had been killed and wounded on both sides

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At Westminster Abbey, the Queen symbolically touched a wreath that was placed at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and the first watch took up its place for the overnight vigil

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Tomorrow, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall will travel to France to join the Cambridges and Prince Harry in Thiepval for a service of commemoration, following tonight's ceremony (pictured)

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Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, play their part as part of the international commemorations

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Prince Harry prepares to make a speech during the commemoration service in France, where he was joined by his brother William



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A vigil is held by military and civilian personnel at The Grave of the Unknown Warrior inside the Westminster Abbey, pictured

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The Queen lays a wreath made of roses and bay leaves on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at a Service on the eve of the centenary of the Battle of the Somme at Westminster Abbey

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Prince William spoke to the assembled crowd in France during centenary commemorations for the Somme, which took place in 1916


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The three Royals look out over the Thiepval Memorial, which is dedicated to the 72,246 missing British and South African servicemen

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, is joined by her husband Prince William and Prince Harry in France for one of several events taking place to commemorate the Battle of the Somme



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UNLIKELY FACES OF THE SOMME BATTLEFIELD: HITLER, MACMILLAN AND TOLKIEN AMONG THOSE WHO FOUGHT

Schoolboys, clergymen and athletes were among the thousands of ordinary men who were sent out by both sides to fight in the Somme offensive.
Many of those who survived returned to their homes in Britain, Germany and France and lived quiet lives, with little to point to their wartime experiences. But others would go on to become notable - and in some cases infamous - names in politics, literature and the arts.

Here, we reveal some of the high-profile figures who fought on the battlefields of the Somme in 1916.


JRR Tolkien
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings author was an officer in the 11th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers. Serving in the difficult northern sector of the Somme battlefield, Tolkien's health eventually suffered. He contracted trench fever at the end of October 1916 and was then sent back to hospital in Birmingham. He was unfit for service for the rest of the war.

Harold Macmillan
The British Conservative Prime Minister from 1957 to 1963 was an officer in the Grenadier Guards who was wounded twice during the Somme. He spent the rest of the war recovering and was left permanently affected.


Otto Frank
Anne Frank's father was the only member of the family to survive the Holocaust. Born in Frankfurt he was drafted into the German Army in 1915 served on the Western Front for the rest of the war, earning promotion to Lieutenant. He moved the family from Germany to Amsterdam in 1933 after Hitler's rise to power and increasing violence and discrimination against Jews, even those who had put their lives on the line for their country.


Adolf Hitler
The Nazi dictator was injured fighting for the German Empire on the Somme. Over the years there has been speculation that he suffered a wound to his genitals as well as the leg wound suffered while serving with a Bavarian unit, which gave rise to the legend that he only had one testicle.
In a postcard unearthed in 2012 the then 27-year-old soldier wrote of his intention to 'report voluntarily for the field immediately' from the hospital in Munich where he was recovering.


Ralph Vaughan Williams
The British composer's work The Lark Ascending is frequently voted the nation's most popular piece of classical music. He enlisted as a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps on New Year's Eve, 1914, the same year he produced the work. He was aged 42.
His friend, fellow composer George Butterworth, was killed on the Somme on August 5 1916.


Siegfried Sassoon
As a second lieutenant with the 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, war poet Sassoon witnessed the carnage of July 1 weeks after earning a Military Cross in a daring operation to rescue a soldier in No Man's Land.


Robert Graves
A friend of Sassoon and a fellow war poet who served in the same unit, Graves was wounded in a shell explosion on July 20. He was so badly hurt that his family were told he was dead and it was announced in the Times. He described his wartime experiences in Farewell To All That in 1929. He died in 1985, aged 90.


Edmund Blunden
A poet contemprary of Sassoon and Graves, Blunden was physically uninjured by his war service but suffered from 'shell shock', now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for the rest of his life. He described the Somme in works including Thiepval Wood.



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