Poppies

"Exactly at 7.30 AM an uncanny silence fell over the battlefield. The British barrage suddenly ceased as it lifted from the German front line and gun-layers adjusted their sights for the next target. By strange coincidence, the German guns, too, were silent. It was eerie; the sun was shining out of a cloudless sky, birds hovered and swooped over the trenches, singing clearly. ... After a few seconds the quiet was shattered as the British barrage fell upon the next line of enemy defences. In their own trenches whistles blew, shouts came from the platoon and section commanders. The Battle of the Somme had started."

Beginning at 7.30 AM on Saturday 1 July 1916 The Battle of the Somme was probably the biggest battle the British army would ever fight in a single day. The human cost was staggering.

19,240 killed or died of wounds
35,493 wounded
2,152 missing
585 prisoners

Last year we went on a family holiday to the Somme region of Northern France, it is known as 'The Poppy Country'. Here are some of the photos taken of that region, it's memorials and cemeteries, not just those associated with The Battle of the Somme but the First World War in general. Many of these photos were taken by my nephew who was nine at the time and they reflect what was of interest to him.



Quotes and statistics were taken from 'The First Day of the The Somme' by Martin Middlebrook, published by Penguin. Poppies photo shows two panels of the Poppy Screen from Millennia Designs, stitched by my Dad!