Current Information:

Enlisted-Peckham

Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz, France

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

By the beginning of August the Battle of the Somme had been raging for a full month. Thousands of men had already been killed or wounded or were simply missing, never to be seen again and and just a few square miles of the French countryside, all in the southern part of the battlefield, had been captured from the enemy. Mistakes had been made by the various commanders and would be continued to be made but there was no turning back as the British, Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders and Canadians carried on battering away at the German defences in the hope of a breakthrough, 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 more 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.

24th Division arrived on the Somme during the last week of July, 1916. 9th East Surrey of 72 Brigade were kept busy training behind the line at Morlancourt and Meaulte until ordered up to reserve trenches about a mile south-west of Guillemont and a mile north-east of Carnoy on 10th August. The following day, 11th August, 400 men were engaged in digging and improving communication trenches up to the front line. This was dangerous work with the German artillery a constant menace and at least 3 men from the battalion were killed during the course of the day. One of these was Sinclair Varnham.