On Thursday 6th October,
John Wyatt (W, 1963),
Graham Thomas (K, 1984) and
Nicky Bicket (F, 1973) drove from London to Thiepval to attend the memorial ceremony for those who fell in the Battle of the Somme. We were accompanied by
David Walsh, Chairman of the Old Tonbridgians and former Second Master and Head of History at Tonbridge School.
Out of a total of 112 ODs who died during WW1, 18 ODs died at the
Somme, a battle which raged for 141 days (from 1 July-19 November 1916) and which has been described as the bloodiest of the whole war. Their names are posted below.
Graham, John and Nicky led the wreath-laying ceremony during a very moving ceremony attended by families and friends of other soldiers who gave their lives.
After the ceremony, we did a quick recce of the area including a visit to the South African Memorial at Delville Wood. David, a renowned expert on WW1 will be leading a the three-day tour of the whole Western Front for ODs and their families next October. Interested in joining the 50 of us who have already signed up? Click
HERE to read register.
Click on the photos to enlarge
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| The Thiepval Memorial Monument from afar. Right, from left, John Wyatt, David Walsh and Graham Thomas |
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| Graham, Nicky and John with the wreath, walking to the Commemoration Stone to lay it and afterwards |
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| At The South African Memorial at Delville Wood |
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| Graham and John beneath the memorial to the Newfoundlanders who died at The Somme |
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| The scale of the numbers dead is beyond comprehension |
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| The wreath we laid for in memory of our 18 ODs killed at the Somme |
Of the Thiepval Memorial itself ...
"It is
also an enormous monster; its rondi eyes; its high arch screams. It is the
open mouth of death, the ultimate 'portrait' of landscape art that rises up to
consume us all. the monster stands behind a carpet of grass. There is no path
for us. We must
violate the grass. Closer we are enveloped by the creature's great gorge. One
sarcophagus like a palate lies within it, under an arch. We must go left or
right in the diagonal stairways to approach it. The white stone panels are
covered with the names of the dead, untold names. We approach the sarcophagus;
a view opens beyond it to the other side. Then we see the men. Out there at a
measured distance from the monument two thin companies of soldiers stand
silently at parade....It should be said that everyone who visits the monument
is weeping now. it is this that does it: the terrible courage of human beings
advancing in the open toward the monster, who is absolute - absolute pain
and nothingness. He is emptiness, meaninglessness, insatiable war and death.
There is no victory for the dead. All that courage wasted. But there they
stand, the men, unbroken. It is not to be borne.”
Architecture - The Natural and The Manmade by Vintcent Scully
