The 1st July 1916, has gone down in history as the first day of the Battle of the Somme. At 7.30am three huge mines were detonated, beginning the most disastrous day in British military history, with casualty numbers of 60,000 including almost 20,000 dead. This remains the worst ever for a single day in any battle involving the British army.
For many of the nations involved there was barely a family untouched by tragedy. Now, a circuit of remembrance has been developed to help those who want to follow in the footsteps of the Somme battlefields and to make sure that the sacrifice of these men will never be forgotten.
Circuit of Remembrance
Monuments and cemeteries lie at every turn in this traumatised landscape, where the living and the dead rub shoulders on a daily basis. However, the Circuit of Remembrance has been developed for those who want a well-considered route for an overview of the Battle of the Somme. This is a 40 mile route between Albert and Péronne joining museums with memorials, cemeteries and visitor centres. The Newfoundland Memorial Park, the Lochnagar Crater and the Thiepval Memorial are just three of these.
Beaumont-Hamel Memorial Park
The Newfoundland Memorial Park at Beaumont–Hamel is particularly poignant; the Newfoundland Regiment lost about 85% of their troops within thirty minutes of their entry into the battle. A beautiful bronze statue of a caribou – the emblem of the regiment – towers over the largest area of original trenches still preserved. A path winds up to the statue which is placed on high ground next to the July 1st battle lines. There are other memorials in the memorial park including one to the 51st Highland Division, watched over by a bronze statue of a highland soldier.
Lochnagar Crater
At La Boisselle the Lochnagar Crater from one of the mines detonated on 1st July has become a lasting memorial. Its position on the outskirts of a small village and the beautiful and peaceful surrounding countryside make it difficult to imagine the carnage that took place that day.
George Nugent and the Grimsby Chums
The poignancy of the Lochnagar Crater is intensified by a memorial bench to the Grimsby Chums Pals Battalion and by a cross to George Nugent whose remains were discovered there in 1998 and subsequently removed to the war cemetery at Ovillers on July 1st 2000 – the 84th anniversary of the first day of the battle of the Somme and of George Nugent’s death in battle.
This memorial puts an intimate and human face on a tragedy whose scale is unimaginable to those of us who have never experienced such an event. Every year, at 7.30 am on July 1st, the time of the crater's detonation, members of the Friends of Lochnagar hold a service and wreath laying ceremony. The memorial site is privately owned and those with an interest can join the organisation via their website.
The Thiepval Memorial
Thiepval is the national monument placed on the ridge where so many British lives were lost and where one can visit the huge and impressive memorial to the missing. A visitor centre offers an explanation of the war and puts the subsequent need to remember the fallen into context.
Designed by Lutyens and opened in 1932 the memorial carries the names of over 72,000 missing soldiers whose bodies have no identified grave. This number is regularly changing as bodies are discovered, identified and buried with full military honours. At that point their names are then removed from the Thiepval monument. On July 1st each year, the anniversary of the first day of the Somme, a major ceremony takes place.
After the enormity of the thousands upon thousands of names, the memorial leads to a cemetery containing French and British graves of fallen unknown. Despite their being six hundred graves in total, 300 hundred French and 300 British, after the overwhelming scale of the monument the cemetery has an intimate feel.
The Cross of Sacrifice
At the foot of the cemetery, a Cross of Sacrifice, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, faces back towards the memorial. This cross is placed in cemeteries which have between forty and 1,000 war graves and its inclusion at Thiepval affords the cemetery its own individual character.
Educational Benefits
Just three of the many moving and historically important sites surrounding the Somme Battlefields are featured here. There are many opportunities to experience the living history of the First World War. If you have a young person in your family who is studying the First World War at school, a themed visit to the Circuit of Remembrance will have a huge impact on their understanding of the war - and the pity of war.
Frances Williams - Frances is an Autism specialist with post graduate qualifications but has had to take a career break. She is now a freelance writer. ...
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