At precisely 6:28 am yesterday, 109 years to the minute since the first mine was detonated beneath German lines, hundreds gathered at the Lochnagar Crater in northern France to honour the 20,000 British soldiers who fell on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Under a blazing sun and temperatures nearing 30°C, people from across generations and nationalities stood in solemn tribute at the site known as the bloodiest square mile on the Western Front. The poignant sound of whistles, once the call for troops to “go over the top”, echoed across the crater, followed by the mournful notes of a lone piper, timeless symbols of courage and loss.
Among those present was 15-year-old schoolboy Ronnie Price from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, who had just completed a mock history GCSE the day before. “It’s just really important to be here to pay our respects to these men who died 109 years ago today,” he said, standing alongside his father, Darren. Despite facing his physics exam the next day, Ronnie felt the need to mark the moment in person.
The Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916, remains the bloodiest day in British military history. By nightfall, 20,000 British soldiers lay dead, and tens of thousands more were wounded. More troops were killed in a single day than the entire combined casualties of both sides at Waterloo.
The service was opened by Lochnagar Crater trustee Julie Thomson, who welcomed attendees in English, French, and German:
“Welcome, bienvenue, wilkommen. Thank you for gathering with us today as we remember and reflect on events here 109 years ago.”
She continued:
“The sound of the whistles and the solo piper playing so beautifully are evocative reminders of that sunny Saturday morning when so many lives were changed or lost forever… This very visible wound of war reminds us of their sacrifice and gives us an opportunity to strive for peace in all our lives. In our own way, we can all ‘do our bit’.”
As part of the remembrance, a Tiger Moth aircraft from the WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust flew over the crater, releasing seeded paper inscribed with poems by schoolchildren, gently scattering messages of peace across the battlefield.
A message was also read on behalf of Richard Dunning, owner of the Lochnagar Crater, who was unable to attend due to illness. In his words:
“Lochnagar is a different kind of memorial… we ask that when we leave, we share with others that profound compassion and fellowship that brought us here today. So that this place may become an everlasting symbol of forgiveness and reconciliation.”
The events of that fateful day were immortalised by British pilot Cecil Lewis, who witnessed the explosions from the sky. In his 1936 memoir Sagittarius Rising, he described the moment the mines were detonated:
“There was an ear-splitting roar, drowning all the guns… a tremendous and magnificent column rose into the sky… Then the dust cleared and we saw the two white eyes of the craters. The infantry were over the top. The attack had begun.”
Though over a century has passed, the scale of the loss and the emotional resonance of the Somme endures. Today, just as then, people gathered not only to remember the fallen, but to reflect on the enduring cost of war, and the hope for a more peaceful world.
