We headed to Albert as we wanted to spend the following day visiting a couple of the World War 1 memorial sites.
We drove to Thiepval memorial. This grand memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Its is the largest of the commonwealths memorials standing on the site of one of the most heavily defended German positions to be attacked during the war. On the first day of battle more than 60,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers were killed, wounded or missing.
This memorial symbolises the efforts in the war and has 72,000 names inscribed of soldiers without a grave.
We then drove down the road to Ovillers La Boissele to the Lochnagar crater where the Royal engineers dug a series of mines by tunnelling under the German fortifications in preparation for the first day of the Somme battle. This commenced on the 1st July 1916 and 6380 officers and gentleman died that day. This is the largest remaining crater at 30 metres deep and 100 metres wide and a sight to behold, standing here today on a tranquil summers day it is hard to imagine the scene here on the Somme 100 years ago.
Harry Patch says it all…RIP.
