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On 11th November 1968 in the school playground my class lined up at 11 am to go into the classroom for an English lesson. We remarked that it was exactly 50 years to the very minute that hostilities ceased in the Great War. Most of the class had grandfathers who had fought in the Great War but few ever talked to their grandchildren about it. Now all the veterans have passed away and the Great War has moved from living memory to history.
In the Summer of 1995 I borrowed from Dundee Public Library a book with the title, 'The Somme Battlefields by Martin and Mary Middlebrooke'.The Somme to me then was just an event in 1916 in history books or television documentaries but nothing more. I knew from my late parents that both my grandfathers had served in the Great War and had been in the Somme. Both had survived but their experiences resulted in years of ill-health due to the effects of gas poisoning which then led to premature deaths.
This excellent guide book aimed at armchair tourists gave details of the conflict of the Somme and what was still able to be seen there in 1992. That book led me to read Martin Middlebrooke's history of the Somme Battle 'The First Day on the Somme' first published in 1971. This is required reading for anyone wishing to read further. When he wrote the book in the late 1960's he was able to speak to numerous survivors of the Great War and obtain first hand accounts.
Those interesting books led me to be more curious about the Great War which made me start to read many more books on the subject. I thought to myself back in 1995 that as the 80th Anniversary of the Somme Battlefield was the following year I would like to visit the area using the first book as a guide. I booked a place on a tour of the Somme being run by Martin Middlebrook in August 1996.
However I wanted to go to the 80th Anniversary commemorations on 1st July I went independently by rail and stayed in a little village called Curlu quite a few miles away from Albert the main town of the area as accommodation was rather difficult to find. I had not realised how rural the Somme area is and dismayed to find that public transport other than rail is non-existent. I had assumed there would be local buses running between the towns and villages in the area. Just a few school buses run although I did find a route with one bus journey each way twice a week. With a bicycle obtained from the B & B I was able to get around the area.
One thing that struck me in 1996 when visiting the numerous military cemeteries, in the now peaceful picturesque country area, was the common dates of the grave markers . 1st July, 14th July, 27thJuly and various other dates of Allied attacks up to late November in the ghastly war of attrition. 1st July being the first day of the battle and you can see rows and rows of casualties with this common date. It was the bleakest day for the British Army with over 50,000 killed or wounded on that day alone. The volunteers who joined in the enthusiasm of August 1914 and had a year and half of training were to be mowed down in minutes after 'going over the top'. Towns such as Barnsley, Bury, Leeds, Sheffield were soon to to plunged into mourning as letters and telegrams from the War Office advising of the deaths of loved one starting arriving. It would mean the end of the 'Pals Battalions' recruitment that had begun by local communities in 1914, and the start to 'mix' the battalions to avoid the wholesale loss to a community.
It is hard to imagine now that this area in 1916 then resembled a lunar landscape due to the constant shelling by both armies. Whole villages disappeared into heaps of rubble. Woods that existed for centuries were shattered in moments. Many of the casualties on 1st July 1916 remained where they fell until November that year when the Germans were pushed back. It was too dangerous to retrieve the fallen. Anyone who tried to retrieve their comrades risked being shot by snipers or by shelling. Many wounded bled to death out in 'no man's land' as no help came for them. The Summer heat brought the smell of putrid decaying flesh which permeated the front line. Rats devoured the corpses that littered the battlefield reducing them to skeletons. Shelling by both sides destroyed the resting place of those buried or not buried. Many bodies were blown to pieces due to the constant shelling. The Somme battles crept to a standstill in November 1916 and in 1917 the Germans withdrew further back to a defensive position called the Hindenburg Line.
After the end of the 1916 Somme battles the battlefield areas were cleared of casualties in 1917 and interred in cemeteries constructed by the Army. Sadly some of these cemeteries were disturbed by later fighting in 1918. The German army made a major push in March 1918 in the Somme area to try and divide the Allied armies . Areas held by the British for 3 years that had seen bitter fighting were lost to the Germans but logistics dictated that they could not keep up their momentum and the attack finally failed. Short of supplies and reinforcements they were finally driven back a few months later. Further advances by the Allies resulted in the Armistice being signed to come into effect at 11 am on 11th November 1918
After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 the grim task of clearing all battlefields areas of the war dead commenced. The French and Belgian governments in gratitude to the fallen, gave free land in perpetuity to enable cemeteries be constructed. Many small battlefield cemeteries were to be removed and the bodies exhumed and moved into larger concentration cemeteries as it would be easier to maintain their graves.
For many families there were to be no cemetery to visit as their son, husband or brother had no known grave. Many men were not found after the battlefields were finally cleared. Quite a considerable number of bodies were unable to be identified and were buried with a grave marker, 'A Soldier of the Great War, Known Unto God'. If the uniform on a body was from a particular Regiment and the rank identified then the grave will have the inscription, 'A Private of the Royal Fusiliers, Known Unto God.' Many more bodies had just disappeared. Blown to atoms by shelling or drowning in mud they are still in the fields of France and Belgium to this day.
Memorials appeared in the battlefield areas, some erected by a particular regiment before the end of the fighting. For those who had no known grave large memorials were constructed. All those who had been killed in a particular campaign area but who have no known grave would have his name inscribed on a memorial. For the 1916 Battle of the Somme a large memorial was built at Thiepval near the site of the obliterated Chateau. Designed by Edward Luytchens construction started in 1926 and the completed memorial was unveiled in 1932 by the then Prince of Wales, the future King Edward the Eighth. It is the largest war memorial in the world and contains the names of the Missing of the Somme, over 73,000. A further memorial for the 1918 battles is in the nearby village of Pozieres. When you visit the Thiepval memorial it is quite staggering to read column after column of names of those missing. For each name that is on the memorial there is a family that lost a son, brother or father. What each family back home went through when the dreaded official letter or telegram arrived advising that their loved one had been killed in action or missing can only be imagined. Not to have a grave and be classed as missing must have been horrendous. There must have been a faint hope that one day their relative would walk through the door. There are stories of many mothers or wives who clung to that dream that their missing son or husband would appear home one day. With the passage of time how did they feel knowing inside that it was a forlorn hope.
When talking to a friend back home in Dundee, Kate Young, she told me that one of her great-uncle's, Lance-Corporal Joseph Willocks had been killed in the Battle of the Somme and that his name is on the Thiepval Memorial. Kate mentioned that many years ago she had read a diary written by him but it was now with relatives in Australia. Last year she obtained a copy of the diary and it gives an account on his time in the Army until a month before he was killed. Diaries kept by soldiers on the Western front were not permitted in case they fell into enemy hands. Joe Willocks had started his diary just after enlisting in March 1915 at the age of 19 when training in England. He continued with the diary in the Western Front but only made entries when he was out of the trenches. The following is his complete diary. I have elongated some words as he abbreviated certain words to make it easier to read. It is interwoven with his Battalion history and the Battalion diary that started when the 1st Sportsman's Battalion moved to France in November 1915. It is not a history of the Great War but Joe's story from his starting his Army life until the Battle of Beaumont Hamel in November 1916.
Whilst writing up the diary a friend, Jimmy Black, told me that he too had a diary from the Great War. It was from his Great Uncle, Jim Buchan who served with the Gordon Highlanders who was also killed in the Somme and he too is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. His diary was written up in 1914 when he was recovering from wounds he received in the First Battle of Ypres. It is not a daily diary but a summary of his experiences from landing in France to being wounded in October 1914. With the Willocks' family permission I have included it in this book following Joe's diary although the period his diary refers to is a little earlier than Joe's . I had intended to weave the 1st Gordon Highlanders Battalion diary with his but unfortunately the crucial period for October 1914 is missing. This was lost in 1918 and despite extensive searched in 1927 nothing has been found. His diary plugs the gap in the battalion diary as his descriptive summary of the battles are grim reading. Jim Buchan's diary is
In the Summer of 1995 I borrowed from Dundee Public Library a book with the title, 'The Somme Battlefields by Martin and Mary Middlebrooke'.The Somme to me then was just an event in 1916 in history books or television documentaries but nothing more. I knew from my late parents that both my grandfathers had served in the Great War and had been in the Somme. Both had survived but their experiences resulted in years of ill-health due to the effects of gas poisoning which then led to premature deaths.
This excellent guide book aimed at armchair tourists gave details of the conflict of the Somme and what was still able to be seen there in 1992. That book led me to read Martin Middlebrooke's history of the Somme Battle 'The First Day on the Somme' first published in 1971. This is required reading for anyone wishing to read further. When he wrote the book in the late 1960's he was able to speak to numerous survivors of the Great War and obtain first hand accounts.
Those interesting books led me to be more curious about the Great War which made me start to read many more books on the subject. I thought to myself back in 1995 that as the 80th Anniversary of the Somme Battlefield was the following year I would like to visit the area using the first book as a guide. I booked a place on a tour of the Somme being run by Martin Middlebrook in August 1996.
However I wanted to go to the 80th Anniversary commemorations on 1st July I went independently by rail and stayed in a little village called Curlu quite a few miles away from Albert the main town of the area as accommodation was rather difficult to find. I had not realised how rural the Somme area is and dismayed to find that public transport other than rail is non-existent. I had assumed there would be local buses running between the towns and villages in the area. Just a few school buses run although I did find a route with one bus journey each way twice a week. With a bicycle obtained from the B & B I was able to get around the area.
One thing that struck me in 1996 when visiting the numerous military cemeteries, in the now peaceful picturesque country area, was the common dates of the grave markers . 1st July, 14th July, 27thJuly and various other dates of Allied attacks up to late November in the ghastly war of attrition. 1st July being the first day of the battle and you can see rows and rows of casualties with this common date. It was the bleakest day for the British Army with over 50,000 killed or wounded on that day alone. The volunteers who joined in the enthusiasm of August 1914 and had a year and half of training were to be mowed down in minutes after 'going over the top'. Towns such as Barnsley, Bury, Leeds, Sheffield were soon to to plunged into mourning as letters and telegrams from the War Office advising of the deaths of loved one starting arriving. It would mean the end of the 'Pals Battalions' recruitment that had begun by local communities in 1914, and the start to 'mix' the battalions to avoid the wholesale loss to a community.
It is hard to imagine now that this area in 1916 then resembled a lunar landscape due to the constant shelling by both armies. Whole villages disappeared into heaps of rubble. Woods that existed for centuries were shattered in moments. Many of the casualties on 1st July 1916 remained where they fell until November that year when the Germans were pushed back. It was too dangerous to retrieve the fallen. Anyone who tried to retrieve their comrades risked being shot by snipers or by shelling. Many wounded bled to death out in 'no man's land' as no help came for them. The Summer heat brought the smell of putrid decaying flesh which permeated the front line. Rats devoured the corpses that littered the battlefield reducing them to skeletons. Shelling by both sides destroyed the resting place of those buried or not buried. Many bodies were blown to pieces due to the constant shelling. The Somme battles crept to a standstill in November 1916 and in 1917 the Germans withdrew further back to a defensive position called the Hindenburg Line.
After the end of the 1916 Somme battles the battlefield areas were cleared of casualties in 1917 and interred in cemeteries constructed by the Army. Sadly some of these cemeteries were disturbed by later fighting in 1918. The German army made a major push in March 1918 in the Somme area to try and divide the Allied armies . Areas held by the British for 3 years that had seen bitter fighting were lost to the Germans but logistics dictated that they could not keep up their momentum and the attack finally failed. Short of supplies and reinforcements they were finally driven back a few months later. Further advances by the Allies resulted in the Armistice being signed to come into effect at 11 am on 11th November 1918
After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 the grim task of clearing all battlefields areas of the war dead commenced. The French and Belgian governments in gratitude to the fallen, gave free land in perpetuity to enable cemeteries be constructed. Many small battlefield cemeteries were to be removed and the bodies exhumed and moved into larger concentration cemeteries as it would be easier to maintain their graves.
For many families there were to be no cemetery to visit as their son, husband or brother had no known grave. Many men were not found after the battlefields were finally cleared. Quite a considerable number of bodies were unable to be identified and were buried with a grave marker, 'A Soldier of the Great War, Known Unto God'. If the uniform on a body was from a particular Regiment and the rank identified then the grave will have the inscription, 'A Private of the Royal Fusiliers, Known Unto God.' Many more bodies had just disappeared. Blown to atoms by shelling or drowning in mud they are still in the fields of France and Belgium to this day.
Memorials appeared in the battlefield areas, some erected by a particular regiment before the end of the fighting. For those who had no known grave large memorials were constructed. All those who had been killed in a particular campaign area but who have no known grave would have his name inscribed on a memorial. For the 1916 Battle of the Somme a large memorial was built at Thiepval near the site of the obliterated Chateau. Designed by Edward Luytchens construction started in 1926 and the completed memorial was unveiled in 1932 by the then Prince of Wales, the future King Edward the Eighth. It is the largest war memorial in the world and contains the names of the Missing of the Somme, over 73,000. A further memorial for the 1918 battles is in the nearby village of Pozieres. When you visit the Thiepval memorial it is quite staggering to read column after column of names of those missing. For each name that is on the memorial there is a family that lost a son, brother or father. What each family back home went through when the dreaded official letter or telegram arrived advising that their loved one had been killed in action or missing can only be imagined. Not to have a grave and be classed as missing must have been horrendous. There must have been a faint hope that one day their relative would walk through the door. There are stories of many mothers or wives who clung to that dream that their missing son or husband would appear home one day. With the passage of time how did they feel knowing inside that it was a forlorn hope.
When talking to a friend back home in Dundee, Kate Young, she told me that one of her great-uncle's, Lance-Corporal Joseph Willocks had been killed in the Battle of the Somme and that his name is on the Thiepval Memorial. Kate mentioned that many years ago she had read a diary written by him but it was now with relatives in Australia. Last year she obtained a copy of the diary and it gives an account on his time in the Army until a month before he was killed. Diaries kept by soldiers on the Western front were not permitted in case they fell into enemy hands. Joe Willocks had started his diary just after enlisting in March 1915 at the age of 19 when training in England. He continued with the diary in the Western Front but only made entries when he was out of the trenches. The following is his complete diary. I have elongated some words as he abbreviated certain words to make it easier to read. It is interwoven with his Battalion history and the Battalion diary that started when the 1st Sportsman's Battalion moved to France in November 1915. It is not a history of the Great War but Joe's story from his starting his Army life until the Battle of Beaumont Hamel in November 1916.
Whilst writing up the diary a friend, Jimmy Black, told me that he too had a diary from the Great War. It was from his Great Uncle, Jim Buchan who served with the Gordon Highlanders who was also killed in the Somme and he too is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. His diary was written up in 1914 when he was recovering from wounds he received in the First Battle of Ypres. It is not a daily diary but a summary of his experiences from landing in France to being wounded in October 1914. With the Willocks' family permission I have included it in this book following Joe's diary although the period his diary refers to is a little earlier than Joe's . I had intended to weave the 1st Gordon Highlanders Battalion diary with his but unfortunately the crucial period for October 1914 is missing. This was lost in 1918 and despite extensive searched in 1927 nothing has been found. His diary plugs the gap in the battalion diary as his descriptive summary of the battles are grim reading. Jim Buchan's diary is