Hundreds remember huge sacrifice of Somme troops
Around 200 people attended a memorial service in Maidstone’s Brenchley Gardens to mark the centenary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme during the First World War.
Major Peter White (Retired) of the Queen’s Own Buffs reminded the congregation of the enormous sacrifice of British and Empire troops.
Nearly 20,000 soldiers died within the first few hours of the whistle to go “over the top” being blown on July 1,1916.
It was the most costly day in British military history and the battle went on for nearly five months, causing British, French and German casualties to reach around 1,088,000 men.
The farthest Allied advance was six miles.
The Somme was a joint offensive by the British and French against the Germans on the Western Front, with the intention to break the German lines with one decisive blow.
But as the Germans launched a counter-offensive on the French, the British Army, formed largely of volunteers, took the main brunt of the attack.
Stephen Pearce, from Maidstone who attended Friday’s service, said: “I’m here to think of my grandfather - he fought at the Somme. He was injured on the first day, taking a bullet in the shoulder, but at least he survived.”
He added: “It is important to remember such occasions. It teaches us conflict is futile and all such a waste.”
Cllr Dan Daley read For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. The Rev Ian Parrish, vicar at All Saints Church, led the prayers, and Cllr Fran Wilson, the leader of Maidstone council, read in Flanders Field by John McCrae.
After the laying of wreaths at the cenotaph, led by the mayor Cllr Derek Butler, bearers from the Royal British Legion lowered their standards while Kevin Ashdown from the Salvation Army sounded Last Post on a bugle used during the First World War.
After Reveille, the mayor raised the Union Flag, before thanking everyone for attending.
Maidstone Museum, in St Faiths Street, will host an exhibition on the Great War, entitled “Coming Home: Conflict and Care in 1916” from September 24 to January 7, 2017.