The Somme Battlefield - the 100th anniversary July 2016
74 images Created 16 Jun 2016
The Somme Battlefield in France - the 100th anniversary of the Somme battle which started on 1st July 1916. On the first day of battle over 59,000 Commonwealth soldiers were dead or injured.
![Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. Sheffield Memorial Park. February 2014<br />
Seen Here: Memorial to Private Albert Bull of the 12th Yorks and Lancs who died on this spot on 1st of July ( the first day of the Somme battle ) and buried here until 1928, when he was discovered and re buried in Serre Road No 2 Cemetery nearby. <br />
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Sheffield Memorial Park on the Somme where there are many commemoration plaques and memorials to the 'Pals Brigades'; Groups of men who lived in the same street or worked together, signed up into the army together and died together as they attacked the fortified German positions at Serre on the northern flank of the Somme Battlefield. <br />
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Caption information below from Wikipedia:<br />
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Several of these battalions suffered heavy casualties during the Somme offensives of 1916. One of the most notable was the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment, better known as the Accrington Pals. The Accrington Pals were ordered to attack Serre, the most northerly part of the main assault, on the opening day of the battle. The Accrington Pals were accompanied by Pals battalions drawn from Sheffield, Leeds, Barnsley and Bradford.[2] Of an estimated 700 Accrington Pals who took part in the attack, 235 were killed and 350 wounded within the space of twenty minutes.[3] Despite repeated attempts, Serre was not taken until February 1917, at which time the German forces had evacuated to the Hindenburg Line.](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000B6vaMMDniFs/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000tpK7kaAnUpc/I0000B6vaMMDniFs.jpg)
![Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. Sheffield Memorial Park. February 2014<br />
Seen Here: In memory of the Chorley Pals 'Y' Company.<br />
<br />
Sheffield Memorial Park on the Somme where there are many commemoration plaques and memorials to the 'Pals Brigades'; Groups of men who lived in the same street or worked together, signed up into the army together and died together as they attacked the fortified German positions at Serre on the northern flank of the Somme Battlefield. <br />
<br />
Caption information below from Wikipedia:<br />
<br />
Several of these battalions suffered heavy casualties during the Somme offensives of 1916. One of the most notable was the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment, better known as the Accrington Pals. The Accrington Pals were ordered to attack Serre, the most northerly part of the main assault, on the opening day of the battle. The Accrington Pals were accompanied by Pals battalions drawn from Sheffield, Leeds, Barnsley and Bradford.[2] Of an estimated 700 Accrington Pals who took part in the attack, 235 were killed and 350 wounded within the space of twenty minutes.[3] Despite repeated attempts, Serre was not taken until February 1917, at which time the German forces had evacuated to the Hindenburg Line.](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000KAaL_KbXADs/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000tpK7kaAnUpc/I0000KAaL_KbXADs.jpg)
![Somme WW1 Battlefield, July 1st-November 1916, France. Sheffield Memorial Park. February 2014<br />
Seen Here: Railway Hollow CWGC Cemetery and Sheffield Memorial Park showing original shell craters and dugouts from 1916.<br />
<br />
Sheffield Memorial Park on the Somme where there are many commemoration plaques and memorials to the 'Pals Brigades'; Groups of men who lived in the same street or worked together, signed up into the army together and died together as they attacked the fortified German positions at Serre on the northern flank of the Somme Battlefield. <br />
<br />
Caption information below from Wikipedia:<br />
<br />
Several of these battalions suffered heavy casualties during the Somme offensives of 1916. One of the most notable was the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington) East Lancashire Regiment, better known as the Accrington Pals. The Accrington Pals were ordered to attack Serre, the most northerly part of the main assault, on the opening day of the battle. The Accrington Pals were accompanied by Pals battalions drawn from Sheffield, Leeds, Barnsley and Bradford.[2] Of an estimated 700 Accrington Pals who took part in the attack, 235 were killed and 350 wounded within the space of twenty minutes.[3] Despite repeated attempts, Serre was not taken until February 1917, at which time the German forces had evacuated to the Hindenburg Line.](https://m.psecn.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I00000AXV5EyRB68/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000tpK7kaAnUpc/I00000AXV5EyRB68.jpg)
