Current Information:

Born-Richmond

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.

12th Division, including 7th East Surrey of 37 Brigade had been involved in some of the early fighting when they attacked the village of Ovillers on 7th July and at the end of the month had moved back into the front line near Pozières. On 27th July, 1916, 37 Brigade took over the new line, north and north-east of Ovillers-La Boiselle with 7th East Surrey in Brigade reserve in Martinsart Wood. From here they provided working and carrying parties until they took over the front line trenches on the last day of the month. On the night of 29th-30th July the battalion sustained 32 casualties when a large artillery shell landed in the advanced brigade ammunition store where grenades, very lights and rockets were stored. Among the casualties was John Swingwood.