Somme 110: Free digital magazine to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme

On 1 July 1916, the Battle of the Somme commenced. We are marking this historically significant event by producing a special digital magazine. To receive a copy, subscribe to Trench Lines. 

What will be featured?

Veterans

There’s a strong emphasis on veterans with recollections by them of their involvement in the battle. It's obviously many years since the last of these men passed away, so to be able to hear from them again will be quite a ‘trip down memory lane’’. 

We will have words from Roy Bealing (who was at Lochnagar on 1 July), James Guy DCM, MM (who was also at Lochnagar), Clarrie Jarman (wounded at Montauban) and Harry Fellows (who served in Mametz Wood), among others. 

Ambulance Trains and Battlefield Clearance

There will be a feature on ambulance trains, and how the battlefields were cleared (largely by Chinese labourers) after the war.

We will also look at Martin Middlebrook’s timeless First Day on the Somme - which was a ‘gateway’ into the subject for so many people.

Unpublished memoirs of William Ralph Peel

Another feature will be a brief overview of some recently unearthed memoirs when we hear from this officer about his time on the Somme. In one passage we hear: 

“I was looking over the trench, and [Col C.G. Forsyth, DSO] was standing just behind and slightly to the side of me. As soon as our men attacked, the Germans opened up with machine gun fire and a bullet which must have gone over my head hit Colonel Forsyth in the middle of the forehead just below the rim of his steel helmet. He dropped down dead.”

The story behind the photo

In another piece within the Somme 110 Magazine, we hear the remarkable story of the two officers who posed for a photograph before the battle.

Although Lieutenant Colonel Addison’s death is included in the casualties for 1 July, there is evidence that he survived in no-mans-land for two or three days and kept a diary whilst dying.

Fascinated by the Great War? 

So are we!

The digital magazine ‘Somme 110’ will be available to all subscribers to the WFA’s Trench Lines. If you do not already receive Trench Lines, just subscribe here. 

Somme 110 gives a mere taste of what is available from The Western Front Association and is the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in terms of the benefits available to members, so if you are not already a member of The Western Front Association, please do join us today!

More accounts

If you like the personal accounts of those who served in the conflict, please check out the 'I Was There!' series of videos which tells the true stories, in their own words, of men ‘who were there’.