Anniversary of Somme brothers who died on consecutive days in 1916

BROTHERS Charlie and Herbert Wickens pose proudly in their military uniforms, eager to swap farm work for serving King and Country.

But they went on to make the supreme sacrifice – killed on the Somme on consecutive days, 104 years ago yesterday and today.

Their mother Ellen was told nearly two weeks later, on the Friday and Saturday, and never recovered.

The heartrending story, unearthed by historian Paul Nixon of British armyancestors.co.uk, is a vignette of the horrors suffered by legions of families during the First World War.

One million troops from both sides were killed on the Somme battlefield, from the disastrous first day of July 1