Somme battlefield sale to be reversed after war of words

The sale of a Somme battlefield will be reversed after it provoked fury among a charity’s members.

The Western Front Association (WFA) has been plunged into crisis since the revelation it sold the Butte de Warlencourt to former chairman Bob Paterson.

Outrage at the decision has led to four trustees of the heritage group resigning and an investigation from the Charity Commission.

The Butte, an ancient artificial mound in France, was the site of fierce fighting between British and German forces during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

WFA members were left surprised by its sudden sale and vented their anger about the lack of transparency around the process on social media.

Military historian Taff Gillingham said that the sale had been “completely mismanaged” by the charity and called on trustees to resign.

Providing updates on social media he claimed that four trustees had resigned over the row and that Mr Paterson had decided to sell back the Butte.

Mr Gillingham wrote on Facebook that he had “received an email from former WFA Chairman, Bob Paterson, to say that the situation, through no fault of his own, has been a complete nightmare for him and his wife, Julia.

“He points out that it was never his intention to upset anybody and his intention was always to finish the work that he had started on the Butte and that he is certain that he would have made a superb custodian.”

A spokeswoman for the Charity Commission said: “We will be contacting the charity to ensure all appropriate steps were taken around the sale of the land.

“Charity trustees are under a legal duty to act in the best interests of their charity. This is an important principle of charity law.”

The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest of the 1914 to 1918 conflict, claiming the lives of around 20,000 British soldiers on the first day alone.