‘We gather to honour those lost in battle’

One hundred years ago in the poppy fields of Northern France, July 1, 1916, saw the single most hellish day of armed conflict, with the start of the Battle of the Somme.

‘We gather to honour those lost in battle’

In what became the bloodiest day in British military history, almost 20,000 men were killed in the first 24 hours of engagement with the German enemy.

A century on, as persistent rain fell over the now silent fields, royalty, political and religious leaders from Britain, France, and Ireland gathered to commemorate those who lost their lives.

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