On July 1, 1916 the British generals sent their armies over the top against a much better prepared fighting force. By the time the battle ended on 18 November, over 1,000,000 men were killed or wounded. Making it one of the bloodiest battles in human history. On the first day alone, 19,240 British and allied soldiers were dead. Many Canadians were killed and the Newfoundland Regiment was particularly hard hit. July 1 is still known as Memorial Day in Newfoundland.
We had some bad luck today. The Newfoundland park at Beaumont-Hamel was totally closed and so we could not get into see the impressive monument there. Also, the monument to the Somme missing at Thiepval was under construction and we were not allowed to enter. Thirdly, the monument to the South African forces at Delville Wood was being cleaned and we couldn't get close to it, either. All this work of course is related to the 100th anniversary of the Armistice coming up in 2018.
Pictures from Delville Wood:
The Somme Museum:
This marks the end of the Battlefields Tour. It has been both interesting and a great time spent with Scott. I'm truly glad we were able to do this together. It is something I'm sure we will both remember forever.
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