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| Silence the most fitting memorial at Somme commemorations | Silence the most fitting memorial at Somme commemorations |
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| The absolute silence of 10,000 people is an immensely powerful sound, and shortly before 1pm local time on Friday, amid an international ceremony full of pomp and military honours, it was that moment of stillness that provided the most eloquent memorial to the horrors perpetrated at the Battle of the Somme exactly 100 years ago. | The absolute silence of 10,000 people is an immensely powerful sound, and shortly before 1pm local time on Friday, amid an international ceremony full of pomp and military honours, it was that moment of stillness that provided the most eloquent memorial to the horrors perpetrated at the Battle of the Somme exactly 100 years ago. |
| At Thiepval in northern France, the site of some of the worst carnage in a grimly competitive field, the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-nieces and great-nephews of those who died were joined by princes, presidents and a soon-to-be ex-prime minister, to fulfil a century-old promise to remember them. | At Thiepval in northern France, the site of some of the worst carnage in a grimly competitive field, the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-nieces and great-nephews of those who died were joined by princes, presidents and a soon-to-be ex-prime minister, to fulfil a century-old promise to remember them. |
| More than 1.5m shells were fired along the western front before the Somme offensive even began, the largest artillery bombardment in history. A hundred years later, the two minutes of silence were accompanied only by the gentle rustle of the trees and a handful of cheerfully chirruping birds. From the top of Sir Edwin Lutyens’s vast monument to the 72,000 whose bodies were never recovered, handfuls of poppies and cornflowers, the British and French symbols of remembrance, fluttered quietly towards the steps. | More than 1.5m shells were fired along the western front before the Somme offensive even began, the largest artillery bombardment in history. A hundred years later, the two minutes of silence were accompanied only by the gentle rustle of the trees and a handful of cheerfully chirruping birds. From the top of Sir Edwin Lutyens’s vast monument to the 72,000 whose bodies were never recovered, handfuls of poppies and cornflowers, the British and French symbols of remembrance, fluttered quietly towards the steps. |
| It offered a moment of calm, and perhaps of perspective, to David Cameron, who in any other place might have been considered to have had a terrible week. He was accompanied by Prince Charles, representing the Queen, and other royals, as well as the French president, François Hollande, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and representatives of other nations who fought and died, including Germany. | It offered a moment of calm, and perhaps of perspective, to David Cameron, who in any other place might have been considered to have had a terrible week. He was accompanied by Prince Charles, representing the Queen, and other royals, as well as the French president, François Hollande, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and representatives of other nations who fought and died, including Germany. |
| Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was also present with his shadow defence secretary, Clive Lewis, and other members of the new shadow cabinet. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, and other dignitaries also attended. | Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, was also present with his shadow defence secretary, Clive Lewis, and other members of the new shadow cabinet. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, and other dignitaries also attended. |
| They heard powerful eyewitness testimony of the “terrific, hurtling death” experienced by the thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who obeyed the whistles at 7.30am on 1 July, rising from their trenches to be scythed down by German gunners. | They heard powerful eyewitness testimony of the “terrific, hurtling death” experienced by the thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who obeyed the whistles at 7.30am on 1 July, rising from their trenches to be scythed down by German gunners. |
| The Somme was not the first or last battle to deliver huge casualties for minimal gain, but thanks to the sheer ineptitude of its strategy and inexpressible scale of its slaughter, it has held a particular place in the conscience of Europe since shortly after it concluded, a byword for the appalling waste and futility of war. | The Somme was not the first or last battle to deliver huge casualties for minimal gain, but thanks to the sheer ineptitude of its strategy and inexpressible scale of its slaughter, it has held a particular place in the conscience of Europe since shortly after it concluded, a byword for the appalling waste and futility of war. |
| Almost 20,000 British soldiers died and 40,000 were injured on the first day alone – the biggest single loss in the nation’s military history. By the time the battle concluded four and a half months later, more than 1 million men from all sides were dead, injured or lost in the claggy soil of an otherwise unremarkable French river valley. | Almost 20,000 British soldiers died and 40,000 were injured on the first day alone – the biggest single loss in the nation’s military history. By the time the battle concluded four and a half months later, more than 1 million men from all sides were dead, injured or lost in the claggy soil of an otherwise unremarkable French river valley. |
| Cameron read one of their stories, that of a nameless British soldier who had been caught, badly wounded, on the barbed wire of the enemy lines; one of his officers, Major Anderton, climbed into no man’s land, walked to the line and carried the man back without attracting a single German shot. “Even at the height of the battle,” said the prime minister, “there were still moments of humanity and mutual respect between enemies.” | Cameron read one of their stories, that of a nameless British soldier who had been caught, badly wounded, on the barbed wire of the enemy lines; one of his officers, Major Anderton, climbed into no man’s land, walked to the line and carried the man back without attracting a single German shot. “Even at the height of the battle,” said the prime minister, “there were still moments of humanity and mutual respect between enemies.” |
| The Tommies who fought in the battle came from all over Britain, Ireland and beyond, and thousands of their descendants had made the same journey to commemorate a distant relative none of them had known, many carrying curled sepia photographs or a small memento that had been the centre of decades of family storytelling. | The Tommies who fought in the battle came from all over Britain, Ireland and beyond, and thousands of their descendants had made the same journey to commemorate a distant relative none of them had known, many carrying curled sepia photographs or a small memento that had been the centre of decades of family storytelling. |
| Among them was Steve Richards, from Brighton, who was carrying a laminated photograph of his great-grandfather Arthur Sillence, who fought on the Somme with the 11th Battallion, the Suffolk regiment. A few years ago, Richards’ uncle gave him a small, stained postcard that Sillence had addressed to his wife back home, crossing off in pencil everything but the pre-printed message: “I am quite well.” It was postmarked 1 July 1916; in fact Sillence had died early on the first morning of the battle, his body never recovered. | Among them was Steve Richards, from Brighton, who was carrying a laminated photograph of his great-grandfather Arthur Sillence, who fought on the Somme with the 11th Battallion, the Suffolk regiment. A few years ago, Richards’ uncle gave him a small, stained postcard that Sillence had addressed to his wife back home, crossing off in pencil everything but the pre-printed message: “I am quite well.” It was postmarked 1 July 1916; in fact Sillence had died early on the first morning of the battle, his body never recovered. |
| “He was just an ordinary man, 38 years old, who worked on the railways,” said Richards. “Signed up, put on uniform, and off he went to war.” | “He was just an ordinary man, 38 years old, who worked on the railways,” said Richards. “Signed up, put on uniform, and off he went to war.” |
| Also present was Kelly McKenna, 27, from Luton, who first became “captured” by the events of the war, she said, on a school trip to the French battlefields when she was a teenager, and last year had a large tattoo of a poppy inked on her forearm with the motto: “Lest we forget.” | Also present was Kelly McKenna, 27, from Luton, who first became “captured” by the events of the war, she said, on a school trip to the French battlefields when she was a teenager, and last year had a large tattoo of a poppy inked on her forearm with the motto: “Lest we forget.” |
| Why the fascination? “It’s the sheer scale of it, of the loss. These men didn’t know what they were going into. They thought they would be home by Christmas.” | Why the fascination? “It’s the sheer scale of it, of the loss. These men didn’t know what they were going into. They thought they would be home by Christmas.” |
| For all the solemn expressions of international harmony, there was a poignancy about the sight of British and French flags flying together on top of the Thiepval monument, a week after the UK voted to abandon their European partnership. On the country lanes around the site, many villagers flew both flags from their gardens. “Very generous of them under the circumstances,” noted one woman, who had travelled from York. Around the huge memorial site, the recent vote to leave was rarely far from muttered conversations. | For all the solemn expressions of international harmony, there was a poignancy about the sight of British and French flags flying together on top of the Thiepval monument, a week after the UK voted to abandon their European partnership. On the country lanes around the site, many villagers flew both flags from their gardens. “Very generous of them under the circumstances,” noted one woman, who had travelled from York. Around the huge memorial site, the recent vote to leave was rarely far from muttered conversations. |
| As he laid a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice with his fellow politicians, Cameron looked grey and exhausted – mindful, perhaps, of the weighty burdens borne by those who seek to lead nations and thus can send men to their deaths. | As he laid a wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice with his fellow politicians, Cameron looked grey and exhausted – mindful, perhaps, of the weighty burdens borne by those who seek to lead nations and thus can send men to their deaths. |
| At Manchester Cathedral, the chancellor, George Osborne, joined Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, for a similar commemoration. | At Manchester Cathedral, the chancellor, George Osborne, joined Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, for a similar commemoration. |
| Tribute was paid not only to the fallen Britons but also to those on the other side, with a number of Germans present to remember their dead. A letter from a soldier called Wilhelm Karl Scheuermann was read out in his native German, in which the young Gefreiter told his parents: “One has to say that the Tommy achieves very little – even though he has a superiority in everything, they are not getting past us Swabians.” | Tribute was paid not only to the fallen Britons but also to those on the other side, with a number of Germans present to remember their dead. A letter from a soldier called Wilhelm Karl Scheuermann was read out in his native German, in which the young Gefreiter told his parents: “One has to say that the Tommy achieves very little – even though he has a superiority in everything, they are not getting past us Swabians.” |
| Manchester had been chosen over London to host the national service in order to emphasise the fact that the losses came from across the country. Manchester and neighbouring Salford, along with many other towns and cities across Britain, sent “pals’ regiments” comprising friends, neighbours and workmates who enlisted, served and often died together. | Manchester had been chosen over London to host the national service in order to emphasise the fact that the losses came from across the country. Manchester and neighbouring Salford, along with many other towns and cities across Britain, sent “pals’ regiments” comprising friends, neighbours and workmates who enlisted, served and often died together. |
| Among them were the Accrington Pals, recruits from the Lancashire town as well as from Blackburn and Burnley who were charged with capturing the village of Serre on the opening day of the Somme. Of the 700 who took part in the attack, more than 580 were killed or injured. | Among them were the Accrington Pals, recruits from the Lancashire town as well as from Blackburn and Burnley who were charged with capturing the village of Serre on the opening day of the Somme. Of the 700 who took part in the attack, more than 580 were killed or injured. |
| Guests in Manchester also heard part of another letter home from the front, written by 2nd Lt John Sherwin Engall of the 16th London Regiment. Dated 30 June 1916, the night before the offensive began, Engall wrote: “I have a strong feeling that I shall come through safely, but nonetheless, should it be God’s holy will to call me away, I am quite prepared to go; and I could not wish for a finer death; and you, dear Mother and Dad, will know that I died doing my duty to God, my country and my king. I ask that you should look upon it as an honour that you have given a son for king and country.” Like so many others, Engall was killed the following day. | Guests in Manchester also heard part of another letter home from the front, written by 2nd Lt John Sherwin Engall of the 16th London Regiment. Dated 30 June 1916, the night before the offensive began, Engall wrote: “I have a strong feeling that I shall come through safely, but nonetheless, should it be God’s holy will to call me away, I am quite prepared to go; and I could not wish for a finer death; and you, dear Mother and Dad, will know that I died doing my duty to God, my country and my king. I ask that you should look upon it as an honour that you have given a son for king and country.” Like so many others, Engall was killed the following day. |
| • This article was amended on 4 July 2016 to correct the first name of Edwin Lutyens. | • This article was amended on 4 July 2016 to correct the first name of Edwin Lutyens. |