The Battle of the Somme

It was fought 109 years ago today, 1 July, and one was one of the bloodiest battles and prolonged conflicts in modern warfare. The Battle of Somme also cost thousands of Irish lives as they were amongst the first to ‘go over the top’ on that July morning. A major part of the Great War, the Somme offensive was fought by the British and French against the Germans and lasted from July to November 1916, along the Somme River in France.  The battle is remembered for its high casualty rates and the devastating impact it had on the British Army, particularly on the first day. 

The Battle and indeed the First World War seem so far removed from history but when we delve into the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive we see how near we are to those who fought at the Somme and survived the tell the tale.

In 1992 the Belfast Telegraph reported on the death of a man who had survived the Somme offensive:

Veteran of Somme (95) dies

SOMME veteran William Maxwell Williamson from Dungannon, has died at the age of 95. Mr Williamson enlisted in the 1Oth battalion Royal Irish Rifles just one month after the outbreak of World War One. He was posted as a despatch rider for active service in France and served on the Somme during many battles. Gassed At Ypres, he was gassed which caused him respiratory and other problems throughout his life ana he lost the sight or one eye. Mr Williamson also served in Germany and was still only 21 when he was demobbed on May 20, 1919.

Three years later in 1995, the same newspaper reported that the last Somme veteran had died:

ARMAGH'S sole surviving Battle of the Somme veteran, Joseph Proctor, has died at the Community Hospital. He was 96. Mr Proctor, from Langs Crescent, joined the Army at 17 and was wounded three times. He was invalided out with the rank of lance corporal and for the rest of his life carried shrapnel in his shoulder from a bullet.

For more information search the pages of the Irish Newspaper Archive (www.irishnewsarchive.com )