Ross Beadle will be asking the question "Who Killed Captain Duncan Martin 20th Brigade on 1 July 1916?"
The talk will cover the 8th & 9th Devon's activities on this day.
It is one of the best-known stories of 1st July.
Captain Duncan Martin of the 9th Devonshire's makes a plasticene model to illustrate to his commanding officer how his men will be hit hard by a machine gun in the Mametz communal cemetery known as 'The Shrine' that has not been taken out by the preliminary bombardment. He is overruled and they go 'over the bags' on 1st July. Casualties are heavy including Martin himself. And many are now buried in the Devonshire's cemetery nearby. In mythology he is the man who 'predicted where he would die' - as described by the Daily Mail a couple of years ago when his medals were sold at auction.
The 9th Devonshire's were part of what was in general a good day for the 20th Brigade of which it was part. The talk therefore looks at two questions:
1. How and why were they able to succeed?
2. Did Captain Martin really predict where he would die?