Current Information:

Age-31

99, Gillespie Road, Highbury

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 days immediately following the carnage of July 1st on  the Somme, had two main priorities. They were to rescue the wounded and to consolidate what gains had been made. In some cases the Germans allowed a temporary truce so that injured men could be brought back from no-man’s land, but many were not reached and they faced a lonely and anguished death. However, despite the slaughter of 1st July, there was no going back. This was the “Big Push” and the attacks had to continue and Haig decided that they would continue on the southern sector of the front where the few successes had occurred. But first two diversionary attacks were launched on 3rd July to take the attention of the Germans away from the real target. The first of these was an attack by 12th Division on Ovillers by 35 Brigade and 37 Brigade. 36 Brigade, were in reserve and 11th Middlesex sent men forward to a more advanced position but in the end they were not called upon and moved back to reserve trenches near Authille Wood. The following day, 4th July, 11th Middlesex relieved 9th Royal Fusiliers in the front line in Authuille wood and it was here that Stephen Deer was killed in action most likely as a result of artillery fire.