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Age-26

36 Christchurch Road, Streatham Hill

The opening day of the Battle of the Somme 1st July 1916

This was a disastrous day for the British Army in France. Eleven divisions of Fourth Army attacked along a 15 mile front from Maricourt to Serre. Two further divisions of Third Army launched a diversionary attack just to the north of Serre at Gommecourt. For a week beforehand the British artillery pounded the German trenches but the Germans had been there for a long time and they had constructed deep, concrete reinforced shelters beneath their trenches and many survived the bombardment. The troops went over the top at 7.30am but even before they had left their overcrowded trenches, many had been killed or maimed by German artillery. The Germans knew that they were coming. Once in No-Man’s-Land the artillery continued to take its toll and then the machine guns opened up on the advancing British infantry. They fell in their thousands and the attack came to a standstill almost everywhere. Survivors sought cover wherever they could find it and at night they crawled back to their own lines, often dragging a wounded soldier with them. Only in the south were any advances made with the attack on Fricourt and Mametz. Over 19,000 British soldiers were killed on this day, including 2,500 from London.

The 29th Division attacked the village of Beaumont-Hamel. In front of 87 Brigade ran Y Ravine, a strongly fortified German position. This Ravine and the convex nature of the slope meant that the enemy were generally hidden from the advancing British along the whole of 29th Division’s front and to add to their woes the wire was not well cut here

The two leading battalions of 87 Brigade, 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and 2nd South Wales Borderers came to grief on the uncut German wire. 2nd South Wales Borderers on left and in front of the Ravine failed to get to the enemy trenches except some of the left hand company who were then shot on the German wire.  Three machine guns appeared to do all the damage.  By 7.35am there was nothing left of 2nd South Wales Borderers except individuals lying out in no-man’s land.