Known unto God

Thiepval Memorial - Somme Valley, France

Ninety-one years ago today, on 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, thirteen divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive astride the Somme River. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. 1 July 1916 stands as the single worst day in British military history with 60,000 casualties suffered on that one day, with over 20,000 killed – most in the morning.

In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in further attempts to break through. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July.

Attacks continued throughout October and into November in increasingly difficult weather conditions. The Battle of the Somme finally ended on 18 November with the onset of winter. By the end of the battle, Commonwealth casualties totalled 415,000, French 195,000 and German estimated at 600,000.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of 72,089 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector and have no known grave. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 31 July 1932.

I visited the memorial a while ago and took these images – it is a remarkable, poignant place and we should never forget what it signifies.