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It is 97 years ago, this month, that the Battle of the Somme began. This Article is dedicated to every soldier who took part in the Battle of The Somme. Please say a Prayer for them all.
May they Rest in Peace.
Do Not Forget Them.
Illustration: Labour Uncut at
Some Memorials were organised by nation, rather than by battlefield. United Kingdom and South African forces are named on the Memorials designated for the areas where they fell. The South African national Memorial, at Delville Wood, has no names inscribed on it, as the names are listed on the battlefield Memorials, instead.
The other Commonwealth nations have national Memorials, dedicated to their missing, who fell on the Western Front: The Neuve-Chapelle Memorial to the forces of India; the Vimy Memorial to the forces of Canada and the Beaumont-Hamel Memorial to the forces of Newfoundland; the Villers–Bretonneux Memorial to the forces of Australia; and the Messines Ridge Memorial to the forces of New Zealand (the latter is one of seven Memorials on the Western Front dedicated to New Zealanders).
Royal Newfoundland Regiment Memorial in Beaumont-Hamel.
The Caribou Memorial is overlooking the ground across which
the Royal Newfoundland Regiment advanced on 1 July 1916.
Photo: 25 April 2004.
Source: en:User:Jcmurphy.
Originally uploaded to EN Wikipedia as
by en:User:Jcmurphy 30 April 2005.
Author: en:User:Jcmurphy.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Battle of the Somme was the Royal Newfoundland Regiment's first-ever major engagement, and, during an assault that lasted approximately 30 minutes, the Regiment was all but wiped out.
800 men lined up to go "Over The Top".
Thirty minutes later, sixty-seven remained alive.
Purchased in 1921 by the people of Newfoundland, the Memorial site is the largest Battalion Memorial on the Western Front, and the largest area of the Somme battlefield that has been preserved. Along with preserved trench lines, there are a number of Memorials and cemeteries contained within the site.
Royal Newfoundland Regiment soldiers in St. John's Road support trench, 1 July, 1916.
This picture was taken before the start of the attack, 1 July, 1916.
Courtesy of the Provincial Archives of Newfoundland and Labrador
(PANL NA-3105), St. John's, Newfoundland
A Video, in memory of all those who gave their lives
during the First World War.
This Video features real footage from The Somme.
Available on YouTube at
The missing war dead of Ireland, at the time of the War still part of the United Kingdom, are numbered among the UK forces (as were English, Scottish and Welsh troops) and listed with them on the Memorials. The main Memorials to the Irish War Dead, both in Belgium, are the Ulster Tower and the Island of Ireland Peace Park, unveiled in 1921, and 1998, respectively.
"Ghosts of Vimy Ridge" depicts ghosts of the Canadian Corps
on Vimy Ridge, surrounding the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Date: 1931.
Source: Canadian House of Commons Collection, (AN: O-4714) [1].
Author: William Longstaff.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Video of a visit to The Somme
to erect a Memorial to the three fallen
Leyton Orient (Clapton Orient) footballers.
Video includes visits to Beaumont-Hamel, Vimy Ridge,
Delville Wood, Thiepval Memorial and Flers.
Available on YouTube at
The Battle of Pozières was a two-week struggle for the French village of Pozières and the ridge on which it stands, during the middle stages of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Though British Divisions were involved in most phases of the fighting, Pozières is primarily remembered as an Australian battle.
The fighting ended with the Allied forces in possession of the plateau, North and East of the village, and in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear. However, the cost had been enormous, and in the words of Australian official historian, Charles Bean, the Pozières ridge "is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth."
De Profundis
View of the Somme battlefield: The road to Pozières, 1 August 1916.
The view is North, towards the village of Contalmaison, which is being shelled by the Germans.
Australian troops, from the I Anzac Corps, passed along this route to the fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm between July and September 1916.
Date: 1 August 1916.
Credit: British Official Photographer.
This image is available from the Collection Database
of the Australian War Memorial under the ID Number: EZ0084.
(Wikimedia Commons)
English: The Australian Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, Somme, France.
Français: Villers-Bretonneux (Somme, France).
La croix du cimetière militaire et la tour du Mémorial National Australien.
Photo: April 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: Markus3 (Marc ROUSSEL).
(Wikimedia Commons)
The De Profundis.
Psalm 129.
By Orlando de Lassus.
Taken from the
Prayers for the Dead.
Available on YouTube at
Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord !
Lord, hear my voice.
Let Thine ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplication.
If Thou, O Lord, shalt mark iniquities,
Lord, who shall endureth ?
For with the Lord there is merciful forgiveness,
And by reason of Thy law I have waited upon Thee, O Lord.
My Soul doth rely on His word:
My Soul doth hope in the Lord.
From the Morning Watch, even unto night,
Let Israel hope in the Lord.
For with the Lord there is mercy,
And with Him plentiful redemption.
And He shall redeem Israel,
From all his iniquities.
V. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.
De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine:
Domine, exaudi vocem meam.
Fiant aures tuae intendentes:
In vocem deprecationis meae.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine:
Domine, quis sustinebit ?
Quia apud te propitiatio est:
Et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus:
Speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem:
Speret Israel in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia:
Et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israel,
Ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.
V. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.
R. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
De Profundis
("Out of the depths").
The first words of Psalm 129. The author of this Psalm is unknown; it was composed probably during the Babylonian Exile, or perhaps for the Day of Penance prescribed by Esdras (Ezra 9:5-10).
The hard school of suffering, during the Exile, had brought the people to the confession of their guilt, and had kindled in their hearts Faith and Hope of the Redeemer and confidence in the Mercy of God.
The De Profundis is one of the fifteen Gradual Psalms, which were sung by the Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, and which are still contained in the Roman Breviary. It is also one of the Seven Penitential Psalms, which, in the East and the West, were already used as such by the Early Christians.
In the Divine Office, the De Profundis is sung every Wednesday at Vespers, and also at Second Vespers of Christmas; the words "Apud Dominum misericordia et copiosa apud eum redemptio" reminding us of the mercy of the Father, Who sent His Son for the redemption of mankind.
It is also used in the Ferial Prayers of Lauds and in the Office of the Dead at Vespers.
The Church recites this Psalm principally in her Prayers for the Dead: It is the Psalm of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, the words of the Psalmist applying well to the longing and sighing of the Souls exiled from Heaven.
It is recited at funerals by the Priest, before the corpse is taken out of the house to the Church.
Hymn To The Fallen.
Available on YouTube at
Illustration: http://www.outdoor-photos.com/photo/51633.html.
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