The Battlefields of the Somme 1914-18

A war that ended in 1918 and in which the men who
fought are now dead is today of great historical interest
for many British people. The Centenary Celebrations
have brought a renewed level of interest in a conflict
that is still 'touchable' in that almost all of us know
someone at one or two, or even three, generations
distance from us. We feel they are our family though
time has brought separation. When we make our
journeys to the battlefields, we take part in a pilgrimage
of sorts, one that remembers those who took part in
the battles, the day to day trudge of existence, the
familial brotherhood of survival, the occasional
laughter and pleasure of simple things, but also
honours those who will not get to do what we do, which
is return to our families and live our lives to a hopefully
old and fulfilled age.
Each year I lead groups to the battlefields of World War
One. In trying to provide these groups with as much
insight as well as information. But always the question
to be answered as we stop at, or more often pass, a
cemetery is "Why is this cemetery here?", then of
course "Who is buried here?". It was important to me
to be able to have answers that showed that every
cemetery, and every headstone, (or name on a
memorial) has a story. It is easy, especially in
somewhere like Serre Road No. 2 Cemetery, to forget
that every grave is a life lived, with relatives,
experiences and aspirations. This book aims to tell
some of the stories, while only scratching the surface.
But, importantly, every burial, and every cemetery no
matter how isolated or small, call tell us something of
our social history.
Defining the area to be covered by the book is a
personal decision and quite arbitrary. First, I decided
what is the battlefield of the Somme? That means to
me 1916 and 1918. Consequently, a much larger area
that may be considered the 'Battle of the Somme',
which is often only the area involved on 1 July 1916. But
in wanting to include the battlefields of 1916 and 1918
I had also to include areas involved in the Retreat to the
Hindenburg Line and parts of the Battles of Arras and
Cambrai, all in 1917. I know that men who were
involved in the battles, and died of a result of their
wounds, are not here. Some died months later in
Britain. I took one family to follow the footsteps of a
relative wounded at Luke Copse near Serre on 1 July
1916 who died of his wounds five days late at a Base
Hospital in Rouen and is buried in St Sever Cemetery.
I had to draw lines somewhere and I am satisfied that
my boundaries allowed me to validly cover as much of
the battlefields of the Somme as made sense.