The first day of the Battle of the Somme, is often considered one of the bloodiest days in the history of the British Army with approximately 57,000 British casualties including over 19,000 deaths.
On July 1st, 1916, The British launched a massive offensive, with soldiers advancing across no man's land into heavy enemy fire. With a few exceptions, the attack is said to have been a failure and the offensive developed into a series of major battles that ended with the onset of winter and exhaustion of troops in November 1916.
This is part two of a series exploring the WW1 sites on the Western Front and I start my visit to the Somme WW1 battlefields in France by visiting the Lochnagar Crater. While in the Somme, I also discover the grave of another possible family member who died here in 1916.
Thank you to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Lochnagar Crater for their assistance in the production of this film.
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If we haven't met before... Hi, I'm Ruth 👋 and I recently bought a campervan to travel my home country of Scotland after living overseas for 12 years. I’ve hardly seen anything or been anywhere in Scotland and now is the time to change that!
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00:00 - Battle Of The Somme
01:16 - Lochnagar Crater
03:32 - Thiepval Memorial
07:55 - The Ulster Memorial
10:09 - Connaught Cemetery
13:06 - Mill Road Cemetery
16:33 - Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial
17:29 - Looking For A Family Grave
19:36 - Commonwealth War Graves Commission Visitor Center