Current Information:

Age-25

Born-Hertfordshire

Enlisted-Marylebone

The Battle of the Somme (July-November, 1916)

On 1st July 1916 The British Army launched a massive offensive along a section of the front line running north of the River Somme. The French attacked south of it. The first day was a disaster for the British army which suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, 19,000 of whom were killed, and made hardly any inroads into the enemy lines. But the battle had to go on, if for no other reason than to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun where they had been facing the full onslaught of the powerful German Army. So it continued all the way through to November with nearly every battalion and division then in France being drawn into it at some stage. In the end the German trenches had been pushed back a few miles along most of the line but the cost in lives had been staggering. By the end of the fighting in November, 1916, British Army casualties numbered over 400,000, killed, wounded and missing.

The few successes there had been on 1st July, 1916 were in the southern part of the battlefield and it was this sector that now became the focus of the battle. But it was not a well co-ordinated or planned offensive that was launched between 7th-13th July. A series of piecemeal attacks took place on the villages of Ovillers and Contalmaison and on Mametz Wood and although some ground was gained, it came at a huge cost in life.

37th Division arrived on the Somme battlefield during the first week of the battle and on 8th July, 6th Bedfordshire of 112 Brigade moved into the front line forming a defensive flank in event of hostile attack from Contalmaison. They stayed here for three days under heavy shell fire which resulted in over 40 of their number being killed and many more wounded. One of those who was killed was Arthur Hardwick on 10th July.