Battle of the Somme
Discussion
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
A great Uncle of mine went over the top at zero hour with the 6th Northamptons , a Pals battalion. They attacked in the Montauban sector , one of the few sectors to meet their objectives. Although the casualty list for the 6th Northants was relatively small compared to others , my Uncle recived 2 severe flesh wounds from German bullets.
He was invalided home, and made a full recovery. He was back to the front by the end of 1916. He was killed in action in the attack on Bouchavesnes ridge, March 4th 1917 . He is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial , as he has no known grave.
Always remembered.
He was invalided home, and made a full recovery. He was back to the front by the end of 1916. He was killed in action in the attack on Bouchavesnes ridge, March 4th 1917 . He is commemorated on the Thiepval memorial , as he has no known grave.
Always remembered.
RizzoTheRat said:
Not even that small a town, 57,470 casualties in one day, that's more than the population of Aldershot, I can't even imagine that level of carnage 
One third killed - which is a shocking ratio evenPlus another 7,000 French casualties. And another 8,000 Germans.
I took a moment to reflect at 7.30.
i still have my grandfathers medals from WW1 safely tucked away, complete with the original ribbons. He was in the Royal Artillery in France and did several tours. By all accounts he was never the same after his experiences, although he died before i was born so i never had a chance to meet him. From what he told my grandmother the carnage was on an industrial scale with body parts literally spraying through the air on occasion and the all pervading stench of death a constant companion, day in day out for months at a time, coupled with the relentless deafening noise of the guns.Quite unimaginable.
Tragic stuff this, an appalling waste of life and the misplaced belief that an artillery barrage would leave the path ahead clear was a horrific and costly miscalculation, very sad indeed.
We had a chat about it at work this morning, three of a team of nine had a relative killed or injured during the battle, a stark reminder of a widespread and far reaching tragedy.
We had a chat about it at work this morning, three of a team of nine had a relative killed or injured during the battle, a stark reminder of a widespread and far reaching tragedy.
Axionknight said:
Tragic stuff this, an appalling waste of life and the misplaced belief that an artillery barrage would leave the path ahead clear was a horrific and costly miscalculation, very sad indeed.
We had a chat about it at work this morning, three of a team of nine had a relative killed or injured during the battle, a stark reminder of a widespread and far reaching tragedy.
The tragedy of the Somme was first and foremost (IMHO) an intelligence failing. Every other mistake radiated out from there. We had a chat about it at work this morning, three of a team of nine had a relative killed or injured during the battle, a stark reminder of a widespread and far reaching tragedy.
They weren't prepared for the strength of the German position, and the destrictive power of their shells.
The wire wouldn't have been coils but big thicket like lumps. The high explosives generally just picked it up and dropped it again, rather than blowing it apart.
Edited by Vocal Minority on Friday 1st July 10:14
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