Somme Memories

Today, July 1t, is the 110th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. I know it seems a long time ago but I wanted to take a few moments to talk about what it means to me.

You see on this date, July 1st, British losses were massive, 57,000 casualties and 19,000 deaths. Around 5000 of those who perished came from Northern Ireland and served in the 36th Ulster Division. In many regards, a whole generation of young men were wiped out on that day, including some in my own family.

When I was researching my family tree, and checking birth and death certificates, I could see that my Great Grandfather Vance’s brother died on that day. He was in his late teens. He went off to fight for King and Country but he never came back. He wasn't the only one and on a day like this there is eerie silence across Northern Ireland. We stop to remember the loss, the sacrifice, of all those young men. We can argue all we want about the causes of WW1 but the sombre truth is that a generation of youth made the ultimate sacrifice in those trenches. They died in the most horrible conditions and if ever the term “War is Hell” was true, then is was along the banks of the River Somme and around towns like Thiepval.

How can we imagine what thoughts went through their young minds as they charged into carnage? They all volunteered to serve their King and Country and their mothers got the fateful telegram.

Even though it is 110 years ago, I still “feel” a sense of loss about my own family member. It’s a somber morning and time has not erased my respect for all who lost their lives in service of their Country. I cannot forget their loss. Somehow it is in the DNA.

This is the opening verse from is "The Charge of the Ulster Division at Thiepval (July 1st, 1916)" by Samuel Cowan.

"The bugle rings out its shrill call to the fray,
And the lads of the North are in battle array;
From Thiepval’s dark wood, where the shot and the shell
Have transformed the fair earth to a hideous hell,
They press through the tempest of iron and lead,
With the steady, bold tramp of the men who have bled."