0:00:02 > 0:00:07Gareth Thomas - Alfie - rugby legend.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10He was one of the most capped Welsh internationals of all time.
0:00:14 > 0:00:17Two of Gareth's great uncles fought in the First World War
0:00:17 > 0:00:20and, 100 years on, he and his family are retracing
0:00:20 > 0:00:22their ancestors' journey to the Somme.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Gareth will uncover the tragic story of what ultimately happened to these
0:00:30 > 0:00:33two young brothers from Pontycymer.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Standing here now, this could be the place where he took his last breath.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38SHE SOBS
0:00:39 > 0:00:43We also find out what life was like for the ordinary soldier.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44Have you ever marched in your life?
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Er...no.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54And he'll get his hands dirty,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56digging at an archaeological site
0:00:56 > 0:00:59where Welsh soldiers were cut down in their thousands.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04Mametz Wood.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07We'll find new evidence to explain
0:01:07 > 0:01:10why the attack claimed so many lives.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Oh, my God, it's huge.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14- It's pretty massive, actually. - Yes!
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Massive. Massive!
0:01:16 > 0:01:19And using new laser mapping technology,
0:01:19 > 0:01:22we'll uncover secrets below the ground.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25A-ha! What on earth is this?
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Secrets that could explode a devastating accusation
0:01:28 > 0:01:31that the Welsh soldiers who fought at Mametz Wood
0:01:31 > 0:01:32showed a lack of determination.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58CROWS CALL
0:02:13 > 0:02:17Early morning, and Welsh soldiers are approaching enemy lines.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23Their mission, to capture a strategically critical wood
0:02:23 > 0:02:25lying on the high ground above the Somme.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29They've been ordered to take it at any cost.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35As they approach no-man's land, they have no idea what to expect.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41# Abide with me
0:02:41 > 0:02:48# Fast falls the eventide
0:02:48 > 0:02:53# The darkness deepens
0:02:53 > 0:02:58# Lord, with me abide... #
0:02:58 > 0:03:01But the fighting here will prove vicious and bloody.
0:03:01 > 0:03:02By the end of the battle,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07over 4,500 Welsh soldiers will have been killed or injured.
0:03:09 > 0:03:13Despite these huge sacrifices, accusations of indiscipline
0:03:13 > 0:03:16and a lack of resolve hung over the Battle Of Mametz Wood.
0:03:17 > 0:03:23Insinuations that Welsh forces could have fought harder and more bravely.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Memories of this linger on,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and still today it remains a sore and sensitive spot
0:03:28 > 0:03:29in the nation's history.
0:03:30 > 0:03:36# In life, in death, O Lord
0:03:36 > 0:03:42# Abide with me. #
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Gareth Thomas has a personal stake in the story of Mametz
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and in Wales' World War I.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Two of his great uncles fought and died on the Somme.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I want to learn more about my uncle cos I feel it's a duty.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09I feel anybody who has a history and a connection with people
0:04:09 > 0:04:12who gave their lives for the way we live our lives now,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15it's only right they should find out what these people went through
0:04:15 > 0:04:17for us to be able to live the way we are now.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22I'm extremely proud of the fact they went to battle
0:04:22 > 0:04:25and gave their lives for our country.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28So for me, I don't want them to be forgotten ever
0:04:28 > 0:04:31and I feel it's a really important part of who I am
0:04:31 > 0:04:32to be able to find out who they are.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Gareth will be retracing his uncles' journey to France,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48trying to find out how and where they died.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54He is beginning at his mother Vonnie's house in Bridgend.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57- Oh, hiya, love.- Hello.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59- OK?- I'm all right.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02- Waiting for my breakfast. - All right, OK, what do you want?
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Thank you very much. Same as always.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07- Do you want tea first, then? - Yes, please.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10Gareth's dad, Barry,
0:05:10 > 0:05:13has tried researching his uncles' First World War story,
0:05:13 > 0:05:16but there's not much information online.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Right, so this is all we've got.
0:05:19 > 0:05:20Two photographs.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Which one's which?
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Er... This is Edward.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29- OK.- 10th battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Died the 16th of the eighth, 1916.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34What age is that that he died, then?
0:05:34 > 0:05:37- He'd be 20.- 20.- Mmm.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40And that's his brother, William.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Died third of the seventh, 1916.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45That would make him 24.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49You look at them and they are so young.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54But what they must've seen and went through in that short time...
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Yeah.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59..was awful. Awful, awful.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01- Kind of ghostly, isn't it?- Mmm.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06- Yeah, it is, like hunting ghosts. - Mmm.- Like hunting ghosts.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11With expert help, the family are hoping they'll find out more
0:06:11 > 0:06:12in the days ahead.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25While they make their preparations,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28over in France, work is beginning on a major new archaeological dig
0:06:28 > 0:06:29at Mametz Wood.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31That stood out the minute we got it.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33- Yeah, yeah.- Shell hole.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34In 1916,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37this area would have been covered in trenches and bunkers
0:06:37 > 0:06:42and all the material of war but since then it's all vanished.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The trenches were backfilled after the ceasefire
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and they're now covered by a century of soil.
0:06:54 > 0:07:01In terms of size, they range from an 18-pounder there...
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Nobody's ever dug at Mametz Wood before,
0:07:03 > 0:07:08so all sorts of traces of the battle could still lie hidden here.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10The key thing as far as I'm concerned
0:07:10 > 0:07:12is that if you discover anything
0:07:12 > 0:07:15which you think is a piece of ammunition and you're not sure,
0:07:15 > 0:07:17give me a call and I will come and deal with it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25The team are surveying Mametz from the air,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28scanning the wood with the latest technology.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30They'll use this information to steer them
0:07:30 > 0:07:33to the most promising places to dig.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39- What do you think? Somewhere round here, then.- Yeah.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42They're seeking out clues as to what really happened in this wood
0:07:42 > 0:07:43100 years ago.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47What they're hoping for is new evidence
0:07:47 > 0:07:49to shut down allegations of lack of commitment
0:07:49 > 0:07:53on the part of the Welsh troops once and for all.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56Gareth will be exploring this controversy for himself.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06But if he's confident of one thing,
0:08:06 > 0:08:10it's that his great uncles and their comrades from the Garw Valley
0:08:10 > 0:08:12were resilient men who had each other's backs.
0:08:15 > 0:08:17'The one thing that Valley life has
0:08:17 > 0:08:19'is the willingness to get your hands dirty,
0:08:19 > 0:08:21'to be hard-working, to be committed.'
0:08:23 > 0:08:25In 100 years, the landscape round here hasn't changed
0:08:25 > 0:08:28and neither has the attitude and the way of the people,
0:08:28 > 0:08:29the way they live their lives.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31You know, there's such a feeling of community here,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34such a lookout for each other that you think, going to war,
0:08:34 > 0:08:36that's the one thing that you really need,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39and the one thing maybe you couldn't train for.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Yet many of the 1,500 men from the valley who went off to fight
0:08:46 > 0:08:47never made it back.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Before he leaves for France,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Gareth also wants to visit the family home
0:08:58 > 0:09:01that William and Edward didn't live to see again.
0:09:04 > 0:09:09I suppose my first thought of seeing this house is kind of...
0:09:09 > 0:09:10It's a few emotions.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14It's a bit of embarrassment at the fact that it's ten minutes away
0:09:14 > 0:09:18from where I've lived all my life and never been here.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20It's kind of, I suppose, one of excitement as well,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23because this is where my journey starts,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26my journey in following my great uncles who lived here.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28But also, kind of, one of sadness,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32cos it's where their journey started as well, and their journey...
0:09:32 > 0:09:33to death, really.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40FANFARE PLAYS
0:09:41 > 0:09:45# Oh, oh, oh, it's a lovely war
0:09:45 > 0:09:47# Who wouldn't be a soldier, eh?
0:09:47 > 0:09:49# Oh, it's a shame to take the pay... #
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Family pilgrimage over,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Gareth's ready to take the next steps
0:09:53 > 0:09:55in finding out what happened to his great uncles.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00By the time William and Edward Thomas arrived in France,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04both sides were bogged down in gruelling trench warfare.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07ARTILLERY FIRE
0:10:07 > 0:10:09The battle of the Somme was a British and French attempt
0:10:09 > 0:10:11to break the deadlock -
0:10:11 > 0:10:14a big push intended to smash through German lines.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Mametz would soon become a key strategic objective
0:10:19 > 0:10:21in this massive assault.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24So, do you want to start, then? A pair of boots on each.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25I think they should fit you.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Historian Andy Robertshaw
0:10:28 > 0:10:30will be trying to unearth the wartime story
0:10:30 > 0:10:31of Gareth's great uncles
0:10:31 > 0:10:34but, first, he wants to give him and his dad a little taste
0:10:34 > 0:10:37of what Welsh soldiers would have encountered in France.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Stick an arm out , it's going to be your right arm.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42And the last item we are going to give each of you -
0:10:42 > 0:10:45you can try a helmet on, OK?
0:10:46 > 0:10:50The key attacking force of Mametz Wood was the 38th Welsh Division.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55Lloyd George had pushed for its creation
0:10:55 > 0:10:58to prove Wales was pulling its weight in the war effort.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01But just like Gareth,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04these men hadn't seen much in the way of combat.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08So, you'll need a rifle, soldier.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10And you're going to follow me
0:11:10 > 0:11:12and we are going to go on a bit of a route march.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14Come on.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- Come on!- Come on! Slacker!
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Right, gents, so what we're going to do now is a little bit of drill,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22just a bit of light drill, a little bit of light practice
0:11:22 > 0:11:23to see what you make of it,
0:11:23 > 0:11:25and we shouldn't be more than a couple of hours.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28Never volunteer, Baldrick!
0:11:28 > 0:11:30GARETH CHUCKLES
0:11:30 > 0:11:31A couple of hours...?
0:11:31 > 0:11:33What are you doing, then?
0:11:33 > 0:11:34I've got a wound.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36BARRY LAUGHS
0:11:36 > 0:11:39- I tell you what, see, innit? I wouldn't go to war with him.- No.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43- Straightaway, out the window - he's meant to be your pal, isn't he? - Yeah.
0:11:43 > 0:11:44He's let you down.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Right, under your gas mask, you've got a bayonet.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Find the bayonet, pull it out.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52- Oh!- Now, take it round, fix it.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56You've got a ring in the top and it fits underneath.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58No, there we go, let's do it.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02OK, take it, it's going to go vertically downwards onto that.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05It'll go on to make a nice click as it goes on.
0:12:05 > 0:12:06- BARRY LAUGHS - What are you laughing at?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Pardon, Sergeant Major!
0:12:08 > 0:12:10Get out here!
0:12:10 > 0:12:12You're relieved of duties!
0:12:12 > 0:12:13BARRY AND VONNIE LAUGH
0:12:13 > 0:12:14Go!
0:12:16 > 0:12:19That's it, nice and easy, just swing.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22- We're naturally in step. - Oh, right. Oh, yeah.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- Our feet are going together at the same point, see?- Oh, yeah.
0:12:25 > 0:12:26God, it's sweaty.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33The men of the Welsh Division would have worn the same uniform
0:12:33 > 0:12:36in winter and in summer and may have marched up to 15 miles a day
0:12:36 > 0:12:38as they made their way across France.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47'I think the more you're in it, the heavier it gets,'
0:12:47 > 0:12:51because the more you start to sweat, and the more uncomfortable it gets,
0:12:51 > 0:12:54so the longer you are in it, the worse it becomes.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56You know, if they have been marching in this all day,
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and not just maybe for one day, but two days, three days,
0:12:59 > 0:13:01four days consecutively,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03then going into battle,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06you know, they're going to be cold, wet.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Even if it's hot, you know,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10if the rain has come, then they're going to have to dry.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13So they basically lived in this outfit
0:13:13 > 0:13:16and it's not a very comfortable outfit.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26It has given Gareth a tiny glimpse
0:13:26 > 0:13:29into the realities of World War I soldiering
0:13:29 > 0:13:32that his great uncles would have experienced.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35He's now hoping to learn more about life on the front line
0:13:35 > 0:13:38from digging the very spot where the fighting happened.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Just as you walk, you can see the trenches snaking through
0:13:41 > 0:13:43- and these shell craters that still survive.- Yeah.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45- Actually, it's quite eerie to walk on.- It is.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48Lead archaeologist Richard Osgood
0:13:48 > 0:13:51is taking Gareth to the trenches he started working on.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56Since this was an attack on a heavily defended German position,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58there are no Welsh-dug trenches in the wood,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00so it's these German remains
0:14:00 > 0:14:02that'll best tell the story of the battle.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08This is one of the German trenches.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12We think this is strip trench right on the edge of the wood block.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15And are they going to dig as far down as the trench would have gone?
0:14:15 > 0:14:16Yeah, absolutely.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18You can imagine you have to have head cover
0:14:18 > 0:14:20to make sure you're given that proper covering.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22- More deep for you than for me, let's say.- OK!
0:14:22 > 0:14:25But, yeah, they've got a bit further to go.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28- So have you found anything, then? - Yes, we have, actually.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32In this little tray - this is our finds tray -
0:14:32 > 0:14:34what we do have is... you see this?
0:14:34 > 0:14:38This is a German boot that's been found just on the surface.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40- Can I pick them up, yeah? - Of course you can, yeah.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44You know, I'm doing my best here to stand here still,
0:14:44 > 0:14:46cos I'm holding them, and it's like chills.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47It's incredible, isn't it?
0:14:47 > 0:14:49- You know, it's not like shrapnel... - No, no.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52..something that was just cast away, this was actually a part of...
0:14:52 > 0:14:54It puts a human on it.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57Yeah, it puts the human element...
0:14:58 > 0:15:00- ..into war, really. - It certainly does.- Yeah.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Especially with boots, cos of the importance of boots.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06Well, that's the thing, isn't it, you don't lose the boots, do you?
0:15:06 > 0:15:11- No.- They have to be taken off you. - Yeah.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12Oi...
0:15:14 > 0:15:18The Germans defending this wood were battle-hardened elite troops.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25In comparison, the Welsh Division troops on the attack were novices,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27untested in battle.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33But Mametz Wood had to be taken.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37As a strategic high point and defensive obstacle,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40it was blocking the way for the wider advance on the Somme.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So, on the morning of July the 7th,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49the Welsh Division prepared for their first full-scale assault,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53attacking northwards across a wide no-man's land
0:15:53 > 0:15:55straight towards German machineguns.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08You would have been in the dead ground, safe,
0:16:08 > 0:16:09someone would have said,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12"All right, lads, we're going to go over the top in a minute."
0:16:12 > 0:16:14All right? Someone will blow a whistle, yeah?
0:16:14 > 0:16:16And that whistle means you're going to go forward -
0:16:16 > 0:16:19you are going to stand up and you're going to walk forward,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21or possibly run if you can do,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24to get forward, to get that way, knowing that, as you come up,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27you're waiting for that first crackle of gunfire,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30the first machinegun to open up, the first shell to burst.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33But the other thing for these guys is, they're going into the unknown.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36You're in that dead ground over there - you can't see that.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38All you can see is the rise in front of you
0:16:38 > 0:16:40and you're going to come up over that rise
0:16:40 > 0:16:43- and as you come over that rise... - Think what you're going to see. - ..that's your view.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45What we're looking at now is the view they get.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48- You're seeing it for the first time. - Think about what the German view is.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- You're down there. Look at that skyline.- Yeah.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- All of a sudden, it's littered with men.- Pick them off.- Yeah.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57It's a turkey shoot.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17In total, the Welsh Division attacked three times that day.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22But each time the German machineguns mowed them down...
0:17:24 > 0:17:26..littering these fields with corpses.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31So many died
0:17:31 > 0:17:35that this area became known to Welsh troops as Death Valley.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41So now, one day, is there an account of the wounded or dead?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Casualties-wise, the two battalions here,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46it's about 500-600 casualties between the two battalions.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49- In one day.- In that one day.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56The attempt to capture Mametz Wood had been a total disaster.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04Obviously, if the first plan failed,
0:18:04 > 0:18:07what's the consequences to who set the first plan?
0:18:07 > 0:18:08Well, that's the problem.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11One of the things that follows on from this is,
0:18:11 > 0:18:13- you know, you try to look for scapegoats.- Mmm.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15But one of the things that really impacts
0:18:15 > 0:18:17is that there's an accusation made
0:18:17 > 0:18:22that the men here had a lack of determination, a lack of resolve.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23- Whoa!- Yeah!
0:18:23 > 0:18:26In effect, they're calling them cowards.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27They're saying that these guys
0:18:27 > 0:18:32are just not up to the job and they didn't press hard enough.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35You are... No way, come on!
0:18:35 > 0:18:37- Yeah, sorry.- By who?
0:18:37 > 0:18:38Who would have the balls to say that?
0:18:38 > 0:18:42A lack of determination is one of the words used by General Haig.
0:18:42 > 0:18:43He was in charge?
0:18:43 > 0:18:45The commander-in-chief of the Army.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49- "A lack of resolve to reach the objective achieved."- Oh, my word!
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- And that's...- And that's against the Welsh Regiment?
0:18:52 > 0:18:54It's levelled at these guys
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- and these are the guys that have taken the casualties.- Yeah.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59- In their first battle.- Oh, my word. - In their first battle.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02That's pheno... What an insulting thing to say.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03Yeah.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06- See, if I could flash back now, I'd stand here, right?- Yeah.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09I'd stand here and I'd go as loud as I could,
0:19:09 > 0:19:10"Oi!
0:19:10 > 0:19:13"Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough!"
0:19:13 > 0:19:16See, so when he's all the way back here
0:19:16 > 0:19:18calling me a coward for being here,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20come and walk a little step in my shoes.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23- Yeah.- Yeah, like, stand here.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25- Yeah.- He never even got this far.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27I'm standing here now, right -
0:19:27 > 0:19:31I bet every single man that stood here on that day,
0:19:31 > 0:19:36the first thing what they had to face, taking an inch after inch,
0:19:36 > 0:19:38and only taking an inch after they'd lost a life.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40- Then they could take another inch. - Yes, yeah.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Don't tell me that somebody stood here and wasn't brave.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46They didn't stand here and they were cowards
0:19:46 > 0:19:48cos, to get this far, you have to be brave.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51- Cos if you weren't brave, you'd have gone that way.- Absolutely.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56These guys here did the absolute best that they could do on the day.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00- Yes.- They worked to the best of their ability.- Yes.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It wasn't their fault that they didn't get there.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04- No unit would have been able to do this.- Yeah.
0:20:04 > 0:20:05No unit.
0:20:10 > 0:20:15On July the 7th 1916, the Battle of Mametz Wood had only just begun.
0:20:27 > 0:20:28A century later,
0:20:28 > 0:20:32a steady stream of Welsh visitors still come to pay their respects.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34This way, this was a... They lost their men.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- It's Gareth Thomas! - Hiya, byt! How you doing?
0:20:37 > 0:20:39THEY CHEER AND APPLAUD
0:20:39 > 0:20:41- It's a real Welshman! - How lovely!
0:20:41 > 0:20:43LAUGHTER
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Was you singing? We heard you singing, that's why we came down.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49- LAUGHTER - Seriously. We were up in the fields, filming.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50- Did you hear us? - Did you hear us singing?
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Well, we heard something!
0:20:52 > 0:20:54LAUGHTER
0:20:54 > 0:20:56The dragon memorial commemorates the men
0:20:56 > 0:20:58who fought and died on this spot.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Where are you all from? Obviously Wales, but where in Wales?
0:21:01 > 0:21:03South? North? Everywhere?
0:21:03 > 0:21:06- All right. - From Llandeilo.- Oh, nice.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Haverfordwest, we've got.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10So from over there we heard you singing.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- What was you all singing?- We were singing Jesu, Lover Of My Soul.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Well, you were that good, I'd love to hear it again.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18- OK. Right! - LAUGHTER
0:21:18 > 0:21:21I'll join in with you. With my terrible voice.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22Come here. Where am I going to go? Come on.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25Cos I don't know the tune or anything. Stay with me.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29- Come on, then.- One, two...
0:21:29 > 0:21:34- ALL:- # Jesu, lover of my soul
0:21:34 > 0:21:40# Let me to thy bosom fly
0:21:40 > 0:21:46# Guide me, O my Saviour, hide
0:21:46 > 0:21:51# Till the storm of life is past
0:21:51 > 0:21:57# Safe into the haven guide
0:21:57 > 0:22:02# O receive my soul at last. #
0:22:02 > 0:22:05I'm so glad I was singing next to the professional singer!
0:22:05 > 0:22:06LAUGHTER
0:22:06 > 0:22:09He was drowning out my terrible voice brilliantly.
0:22:09 > 0:22:10Thank you, byt.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Back at the dig, the archaeologists are now finding traces
0:22:19 > 0:22:20of German trenches in the wood.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25The Welsh soldiers attacking would have aimed
0:22:25 > 0:22:27to capture these defences as they advanced.
0:22:28 > 0:22:29Hello, byt. All right?
0:22:29 > 0:22:31You OK?
0:22:31 > 0:22:32Yeah, good, good. You coming in?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Yeah. Can I come in anywhere?
0:22:34 > 0:22:38- Can I step on anything? - Yeah.- I don't want to ruin your dig.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Gareth wants to do his part in helping the team uncover the story.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44So which part are you digging?
0:22:44 > 0:22:47At the minute, we're trying to do this front-line trench.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Right.- You can see down here we've just exposed some comms wire -
0:22:50 > 0:22:52- communication wire.- Right, OK.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54This is what they would have used for communications
0:22:54 > 0:22:55on the frontline trench.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58- So can I try and find something? - Yeah, of course you can.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59Grab a trowel.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04I've never really been gentle with stuff, so what do you do?
0:23:04 > 0:23:05- Just kind of... - You'll have to be now.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07What we're trying to do is just trace it.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09Right, so just kind of scraping it, I suppose?
0:23:09 > 0:23:12- Yeah, pretty much.- There's a fair bit of ordnance in here.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- We found a grenade and stuff yesterday, as well.- Oh, really?
0:23:15 > 0:23:17- Whoa.- There's quite a bit of small arms coming out.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19You could have told me that before I jumped in here, byt!
0:23:19 > 0:23:21Right, OK.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24Matt Smith and another archaeologists on the team
0:23:24 > 0:23:27are also former soldiers themselves.
0:23:27 > 0:23:29They're here as part of an MOD project
0:23:29 > 0:23:31called Operation Nightingale.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33It tries to help injured or traumatised soldiers
0:23:33 > 0:23:35through archaeology.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39Matt, originally from Cwmbran,
0:23:39 > 0:23:43was in the Royal Signals, and served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47Dave Hart was severely injured by a suicide bomber
0:23:47 > 0:23:50who drove into his Land Rover in Kabul.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And Ant Cook served as an infantry soldier with the Royal Welsh
0:23:55 > 0:23:57in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02For me, the first time being in a trench and digging, it's kind of...
0:24:02 > 0:24:05I don't know, it's kind of an eerie feeling.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08You're in a trench where the Germans and the British
0:24:08 > 0:24:11- would have fought against each other.- Yeah.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13- Trying to kill each other, ultimately.- Yeah.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16Maybe you could understand more than me but, for me,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20I just find this very difficult to understand and comprehend.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23And that's why I want to get my hands dirty,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25being here to find things.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27When you dig and you're actually getting dirty
0:24:27 > 0:24:29and in the places where these people were,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32you know, it becomes a lot more real.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Work's now finishing up for the day
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and the team are packing away their tools and finds.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48There's still time for a quick practice session
0:24:48 > 0:24:50before dinner, though.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00INDISTINCT CHATTER
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Later that evening, around the campfire,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Gareth wants to know what these military men
0:25:06 > 0:25:09make of accusations of a lack of determination.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13Something that really kind of...
0:25:14 > 0:25:18Kind of hurt when I was told about the nature,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21that they were called cowards when they were sent over the first time
0:25:21 > 0:25:24because they weren't attack-minded enough. Erm...
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Nobody in this war could have been a coward.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- No.- From any country around the world.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- Am I right in saying that? - Yeah, definitely.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Definitely.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I find that quite shocking, as well.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37I don't know how anyone could call someone a coward, you know,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40that's here, and, you know...
0:25:40 > 0:25:42standing in front of where the Germans were,
0:25:42 > 0:25:44all that artillery going off.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And, you know, actually going over the top of the trench
0:25:47 > 0:25:49and going forward, you know? I don't...
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Being soldiers, can you even imagine...
0:25:56 > 0:25:58..the chaos that happened here?
0:25:58 > 0:25:59Honestly, no.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03Not seeing what they've gone through and seeing the lay of the land,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06seeing the...
0:26:06 > 0:26:09ridiculous amount of shell craters there are up there,
0:26:09 > 0:26:11erm... I don't think anybody can.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13Yeah, we were here for no more than a few minutes, weren't we?
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- And we were like, "We wouldn't want to attack that."- No.- At all!
0:26:16 > 0:26:19The fact the Germans were up on high ground -
0:26:19 > 0:26:21just would have been such a challenge to go up there,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23with all that machinegun fire coming down.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26Just unbelievable, the courage that they would have took to do that.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29You know that there's high casualties
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and you know your chance will be slim doing that.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35- Yeah.- It's just mad, like.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38We've all lost friends and suffered personally
0:26:38 > 0:26:41but to do that day after day for...
0:26:41 > 0:26:43You know, some of these guys were fighting from 1914 to 1918.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47That's just beyond comprehension, even for... You know...
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- Even for...- Yeah, despite that. I've only done it...
0:26:50 > 0:26:51Yeah.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Next morning, Gareth is hoping to finally learn
0:27:12 > 0:27:14about the fate of his great uncle Edward,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16something he's wanted to know for many years.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23So Andy's taking the Thomas family to a spot
0:27:23 > 0:27:27outside the village of Aveluy, just down the road from Mametz.
0:27:33 > 0:27:34Erm...
0:27:34 > 0:27:36This has all been a bit mysterious.
0:27:36 > 0:27:38I bet you're wondering why I've brought you here.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40I bet you're thinking, "Why?"
0:27:40 > 0:27:41- Yeah.- OK. Er...
0:27:41 > 0:27:43Well, we've been very lucky.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47We've done some more research on William Thomas,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49your uncle, your great uncle.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54And we know quite a lot more about the circumstances of his death.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59On the day of his death,
0:27:59 > 0:28:05B and D Company of his regiment were sent to this village.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09And their job was to repair the road that went from the village,
0:28:09 > 0:28:13- from the rear area...- Yeah... - ..up there.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15And that's the British front line.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20Fixing roads and infrastructure was a vital job in World War I -
0:28:20 > 0:28:23as important as fighting on the front line.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Andy has found out that Gareth's uncle William was a Pioneer,
0:28:28 > 0:28:31responsible for jobs just like this.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34And the Pioneers were putting their lives on the line every day,
0:28:34 > 0:28:36just like any other soldier.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41This is what's called the War Diary,
0:28:41 > 0:28:44and it says, "4am..." So he had an early start.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48"..B and D companies get to Aveluy", which is where we are now.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50And it then tells us that, on that day,
0:28:50 > 0:28:54the Germans shell again and two men were killed.
0:28:56 > 0:29:02It says, "Killed in action, number 17624, E Hopkins,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05"and 17627, William Thomas."
0:29:09 > 0:29:11It's just... It's just nice to know.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14- Yeah.- I just feel it's nice to know. - BARRY:- Some closure, anyway.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17Yeah, it's nice. Yeah.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21You know, standing here now, this could be the place where...
0:29:21 > 0:29:25You know, this could be the place where he took his last breath.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28And it was 100 years ago
0:29:28 > 0:29:31and everything should say probably I should be so disconnected by it
0:29:31 > 0:29:33but I don't. I feel really...
0:29:33 > 0:29:36- Hmm.- I really feel really connected to it.
0:29:36 > 0:29:37Yeah, definitely.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39We've always said, like, all right,
0:29:39 > 0:29:41they were killed in the First World War in France.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Now, we can actually put a story to that.
0:29:44 > 0:29:46Yeah. Because it's a life.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48- It's a human life.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Just working away, and...
0:29:50 > 0:29:53- VONNIE:- Yeah. One of those things that happens.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59You're all right. OK?
0:29:59 > 0:30:01- SHE SOBS - Take a moment.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06- We know now, don't we? We know what our...- Yeah.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10And you'll know that we use poppies for remembrance.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13- I bet you can't guess what the French use.- Shit.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15They use a blue cornflower.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18And it's somewhere down this strip of road that he was killed
0:30:18 > 0:30:19and this is a memorial.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22And the people in the village haven't forgotten.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- VONNIE:- I wondered when I seen them. - Yeah.
0:30:25 > 0:30:27- BARRY:- I thought it was just a flower bed.- No, it's not.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30- A council thing.- Well, I think it's probably the village.
0:30:30 > 0:30:31- You know what I mean.- Yeah, yeah.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33It looks like a bit of planting but it's not.
0:30:33 > 0:30:34It's a memory.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37And, in fact, they know that we use the poppy
0:30:37 > 0:30:40and they use the cornflower, and here they are, mixed.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46But the only thing is that he obviously has a burial.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49In fact, the local cemetery, which is just up the hill here -
0:30:49 > 0:30:53there are 16 men who are unknown.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56In other words, the bodies were found, they were buried,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58but nobody knew actually who they were.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00- BARRY:- So he could be there? - I think he could.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02I'm not saying he is but he could be there.
0:31:07 > 0:31:09- VONNIE:- Yeah, look. The younger son, there.- Yeah.
0:31:09 > 0:31:14Incredibly, it turns out the dates on four of these unknown graves
0:31:14 > 0:31:17match the date of great uncle William's death.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20So one of them could be his burial place.
0:31:21 > 0:31:23I'm really drawn to this.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25I know it sounds silly.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27But they're all the 3rd of July.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32They all have the Dragon and they have this beautiful yellow rose.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39What a great place now to be able to come.
0:31:39 > 0:31:40Yes.
0:31:42 > 0:31:45- This will always be a special little village, won't it?- Yeah.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47Yeah, it will now.
0:31:49 > 0:31:53I feel we should be all maybe quite morbidly upset
0:31:53 > 0:31:56but I really feel like it's something to be celebrated
0:31:56 > 0:31:57because...
0:31:57 > 0:32:04you know, we've narrowed this down now to actually finding
0:32:04 > 0:32:07where he lays, near enough, and where he rests.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11I think the final part, for me, is coming here and just sitting there
0:32:11 > 0:32:13'and listening to the silence.'
0:32:13 > 0:32:15And thinking, do you know what?
0:32:15 > 0:32:20If you're going to rest anywhere and be in peace anywhere, then...
0:32:20 > 0:32:22this, for me in my mind...
0:32:22 > 0:32:25is a nice place to rest.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27It's a nice, peaceful place to rest.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39There are peaceful cemeteries like this one
0:32:39 > 0:32:41scattered right across the Somme.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45None of the dead were brought back home.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48They all rest side-by-side here, where they fell.
0:32:51 > 0:32:56And out of the 120,000 Welsh soldiers who fought in World War I,
0:32:56 > 0:32:58around 40,000 lost their lives.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03Given the scale of all this carnage,
0:33:03 > 0:33:06it remains to be seen whether Gareth can track down
0:33:06 > 0:33:08his other great uncle, Edward.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16Back at the dig, the day's been heating up
0:33:16 > 0:33:18and Gareth's keen to pull his weight.
0:33:21 > 0:33:22Boys!
0:33:24 > 0:33:27- What have we got? - I think... Is it leather?
0:33:28 > 0:33:30Oh, wow. Oh, my God.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33- Yeah, there is. - It's a really big piece.
0:33:35 > 0:33:38Yeah, that looks like part of a webbing pouch.
0:33:38 > 0:33:39- It's like an ammo pouch.- Yeah.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41- That's a big piece.- That is.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44- We need to get the... - Yeah, it's pretty massive, actually.
0:33:44 > 0:33:45Yes! Massive!
0:33:45 > 0:33:48- THEY LAUGH - Massive! Massive.
0:33:48 > 0:33:49Good word.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51That's brilliant. Look at that.
0:33:51 > 0:33:53That's in great condition, as well.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55- And, mate...- Where did you find it?
0:33:55 > 0:33:58Erm... Just kind of, like...
0:33:58 > 0:33:59in the mud.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01THEY LAUGH
0:34:01 > 0:34:03There's a technical term there.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05Yeah, we need Andy over here,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08and he'll hopefully be able to identify that,
0:34:08 > 0:34:10tell us where that comes from.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Hopefully, whether it's British or German.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Wow, what an awesome feeling.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18When it comes to identifying World War I artefacts,
0:34:18 > 0:34:21Andy's knowledge is second to none.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23Andy, office!
0:34:23 > 0:34:27It's the lower half, the bottom,
0:34:27 > 0:34:30of a German ammunition pouch.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33From either here or there on the body.
0:34:33 > 0:34:34Yeah.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37So that's German and that's a German ammunition pouch.
0:34:37 > 0:34:39Can you say it with a little bit more enthusiasm?
0:34:39 > 0:34:41- Cos it's the first thing I've found. - LAUGHTER
0:34:41 > 0:34:42It is a fantastic find.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44I mean, in this soil, as well, it's an amazing find.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46I think it might be the top flap, actually.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48But that's what you've got.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50So that would be the part that would have opened up.
0:34:50 > 0:34:52You open it up and then take the ammunition out.
0:34:52 > 0:34:54Close it up again and put that in your rifle.
0:34:54 > 0:34:55- Yeah.- That's what it is.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57German, definitely.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00- I think the words you're looking for are, "Amazing, well done."- Yeah...
0:35:00 > 0:35:03- Well, we haven't got anything like that. It IS amazing.- Thank you!
0:35:03 > 0:35:05Thank you. That's what we want.
0:35:05 > 0:35:07It is. All we need now is a German helmet and I'm happy.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08OK. OK. No problem.
0:35:08 > 0:35:10No problem. What Andy wants, Andy gets.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16For the trainee archaeologist, it's a great start.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19And they're still seems to be more of the ammunition pouch
0:35:19 > 0:35:21in Gareth's trench.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23- Oh, yeah.- You can see the edge along there.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25- See it?- Yeah. That's fantastic.
0:35:25 > 0:35:27Oh, my God! It's huge.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29You're, like, finding history.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41So Gareth's personally found traces of the Germans who occupied
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and, in some cases, fought and died in these trenches.
0:35:49 > 0:35:52And he's now about to meet a descendant
0:35:52 > 0:35:54of German troops who were posted to the Somme.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58- Hello, Brigitte.- Guten tag.
0:35:58 > 0:35:59I'm Gareth.
0:35:59 > 0:36:01Ich bin Brigitte aus Deutschland.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03Lovely to meet you. Please sit down, please.
0:36:03 > 0:36:09These are my great uncles who fought and died in this area.
0:36:09 > 0:36:10And this one...
0:36:10 > 0:36:13Brigitte Weber's two uncles were sent off to the war,
0:36:13 > 0:36:15just like Gareth's own great uncles.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20And just like the Thomases, Brigitte's family also lost a son.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Oh, he looks so young in this picture.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09So this is a postcard written by him back to his parents.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13Kind of, trying to explain how he's attempting to deal
0:37:13 > 0:37:17with the grief of, only a week or two weeks prior to that,
0:37:17 > 0:37:19losing his brother in the battle.
0:37:19 > 0:37:20Ja.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45Wow, so he fought near Mametz, which means that, potentially,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48his regiment would have fought against one of the regiments
0:37:48 > 0:37:49that my great uncles were in.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56When you look at them there, lined up, they could almost be brothers.
0:38:19 > 0:38:23Back at the dig site, there's been a momentous and poignant discovery.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27A team has started to uncover human bones.
0:38:29 > 0:38:32It's highly likely they are the remains of a soldier
0:38:32 > 0:38:34who died here in 1916.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37- Can you see where the break is? - Yes. Oh, my goodness.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39You've got the bone there, where the break's been,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and there's another bone and there's a joint there.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47Look, it does go on, doesn't it?
0:38:47 > 0:38:49- And it's going down, isn't it? - Yeah, it is going down.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53OK, so, erm...
0:38:53 > 0:38:55You've got the ammunition pouch that Gareth found there.
0:38:55 > 0:38:56No.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Gareth's one was removed yesterday.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00- Oh, that's the second one. - That's the second one.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02- Oh, right.- We just found that this morning.
0:39:02 > 0:39:06Gareth's ammunition pouch that he found was adjacent to that one.
0:39:06 > 0:39:07OK, well, you've got two, then.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10- Two ammo pouches.- And the arms... Well, the arm there,
0:39:10 > 0:39:13- potentially like that, as if he's lying down?- Slumped on a side?
0:39:13 > 0:39:17- Yeah, possibly.- OK, and that's the back of the trench? - The back of the trench.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21- But he's obviously orientated in this direction.- Right.- So...
0:39:21 > 0:39:23So... Mmm. Oh...
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Potentially, we've got the remains of a skeleton.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28- Yeah.- Possibly a soldier.- Yeah.
0:39:28 > 0:39:33They'll need to dig very carefully to find whatever else survives
0:39:33 > 0:39:34of this fallen soldier.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39It's painstaking work.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43And the team want to treat his remains with the utmost respect.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48For the next few hours, things move very slowly.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Oh, my word. Just think, 24 hours ago, I was down here.
0:39:53 > 0:39:54HE CHUCKLES
0:39:56 > 0:39:59- There's the brush.- Oh, my God!
0:39:59 > 0:40:02If you look to the left, just below where you pulled your pouch out...
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- That's the rest of it? - There's the other one.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08And then, obviously, in the centre, you can see the two arm bones.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13Oh... I don't know, it just brings everything back a bit, doesn't it?
0:40:13 > 0:40:15- The horrors of it all.- Mm-hmm.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20There's something really haunting about it, as well.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24It kind of doesn't really matter if he was a British soldier,
0:40:24 > 0:40:27- a Welsh soldier, a German soldier. - Irrelevant. Yeah.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Irrelevant.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32This person has a story to tell, he has a family, I'm sure.
0:40:34 > 0:40:35He has a history.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39- And he doesn't deserve to be left... - In the trench, like.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41He doesn't deserve it, does he?
0:40:47 > 0:40:51They'll do everything they can to recover any further remains
0:40:51 > 0:40:55but, without ID papers, they can't hope to identify this individual.
0:40:55 > 0:40:58Whatever happens at the end of the dig,
0:40:58 > 0:41:00they'll carefully reinter his bones
0:41:00 > 0:41:02in one of the cemeteries in the area.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13There must be dozens more lost and forgotten soldiers
0:41:13 > 0:41:16still scattered through this wood.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20And the battle would claim even more lives
0:41:20 > 0:41:22when the Welsh attacked for a second time.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Having looked at that first attack on the 7th of July,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29- we've jumped three days.- Yeah.
0:41:29 > 0:41:31On the morning of the 10th of July,
0:41:31 > 0:41:35the 38th Division is now going to launch its attack against the wood.
0:41:44 > 0:41:46GUNFIRE
0:41:46 > 0:41:50Nobody knew how many German soldiers still remained hidden in the wood,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53or how well defended they were.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55But the Welsh Division's new commander was determined
0:41:55 > 0:41:58that, this time, they'd throw everything at the fight.
0:42:00 > 0:42:05So there'd be no retreat, however much blood was spilt.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07It's a tough fight. It's a horrid fight.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Remember, you're not...
0:42:09 > 0:42:11You've been trained that you might get a bit of notice
0:42:11 > 0:42:12of shooting at your opponents.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15But in here, there could be somebody behind a tree.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18People literally come round a tree and there's a German soldier.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22It's the first person who pulls the trigger, who's the quickest,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24that will survive.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Having fought their way in,
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Welsh troops were surprised at the scene of utter chaos
0:42:34 > 0:42:35that greeted them.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:42:47 > 0:42:50Their commanders had told them it should only take a couple of hours
0:42:50 > 0:42:51to clear the whole wood.
0:42:53 > 0:42:56You've got the added problems of artillery shells bursting in trees,
0:42:56 > 0:42:58which is then going to send
0:42:58 > 0:43:00thousands of splinters of wood flying around.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02All of which is horrific
0:43:02 > 0:43:05but you've got to start working your way through.
0:43:05 > 0:43:08GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:43:08 > 0:43:10It's absolute chaos in here.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13GUNFIRE AND EXPLOSIONS
0:43:21 > 0:43:23It almost feels like it doesn't end.
0:43:23 > 0:43:26Yesterday, when we were up there, the horror of what they had to face
0:43:26 > 0:43:28to come into... was almost unbelievable.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31Then you think, OK, you get to the woods,
0:43:31 > 0:43:35maybe have a sense of, OK, we're in a safer zone for a bit.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37But all of a sudden,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40- the woods brings as much danger as no-man's land.- Yeah.
0:43:40 > 0:43:44You've got people like Llewelyn Wyn Griffiths, who's a staff officer.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47He's actually come into the wood during the carnage
0:43:47 > 0:43:52and he talks about seeing a huge Prussian soldier on his knees.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55And in front of him is a little, short Welshman
0:43:55 > 0:43:57and they're both bayoneting each other at the same time.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00And they're kneeling, leaning against each other,
0:44:00 > 0:44:01with the bayonets impaled.
0:44:06 > 0:44:11This level of extreme violence and brutal hand-to-hand combat
0:44:11 > 0:44:14was captured in the most famous image of the battle -
0:44:14 > 0:44:18a painting called The Welsh At Mametz Wood by Christopher Williams.
0:44:23 > 0:44:25It's a gory depiction of the full horror
0:44:25 > 0:44:27of what happened to the Welsh Division
0:44:27 > 0:44:28as they moved into the wood.
0:44:34 > 0:44:36In the years since 1916,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39no-one's ever been fully certain of exactly what happened here
0:44:39 > 0:44:41and why it was so hard to clear.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46But now the archaeologists are hoping to find out.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51They've used lidar, a laser mapping system,
0:44:51 > 0:44:53to read the landscape from the air.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58It can even see through trees and vegetation.
0:44:58 > 0:45:01They are looking for clues in this never-before-seen landscape -
0:45:01 > 0:45:04new discoveries might help them better understand
0:45:04 > 0:45:07what slowed down the Welsh advance.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12Once we've stripped away all the tree cover from the lidar data,
0:45:12 > 0:45:13we get the sort of bare earth,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15so we can start to see features on the ground.
0:45:15 > 0:45:19- Mm-hmm.- And you can see these very large crater-like features.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22Those are colossal. They're not on any maps, are they, Andy?
0:45:22 > 0:45:23- ANDY:- No, they're not. And those, actually,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27have some rectangular sides to them, so they're not shell holes.
0:45:27 > 0:45:30Also, you can see, to the east of that,
0:45:30 > 0:45:34you can see there's another slight, subtle feature here.
0:45:34 > 0:45:36There's something showing up beneath the trees
0:45:36 > 0:45:39and Andy's spotted another clue on the wartime map.
0:45:39 > 0:45:43It's a mark in exactly the same part of the wood.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47The good thing about the map is that it shows the objectives,
0:45:47 > 0:45:51the positions they were meant to get to at various times of the battle.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53They go first to the first path across the wood
0:45:53 > 0:45:56and then they're meant to move onto the second path across the road,
0:45:56 > 0:45:58much further to the north.
0:45:58 > 0:46:00But below it, there's a grey band.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02What does that grey band say?
0:46:02 > 0:46:06It says, "Line reached at July 10th-11th, night."
0:46:06 > 0:46:09But that's short of the objective they're meant to reach.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12And it seems... Well, it suggests to me that they got stopped.
0:46:12 > 0:46:14In fact, just looking at this now,
0:46:14 > 0:46:18they get stopped short of their second objective
0:46:18 > 0:46:22along the line of those big features and also your anomaly.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24So what are these features showing up
0:46:24 > 0:46:27both on the wartime map and the airborne survey?
0:46:29 > 0:46:31100 years on, could they help prove
0:46:31 > 0:46:34how hard the Welsh soldiers really fought?
0:46:34 > 0:46:37It's time to go exploring.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39The first objective is actually here.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42And then we are going to go roughly the same distance up there again.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47They're following the main path running through the wood.
0:46:50 > 0:46:54Hang on. Ah! What's that? What's that? That's linear.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56No, it's a shell crater. Two.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57Two.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01- What have we got?- Shell crater upon shell crater, we really have.
0:47:01 > 0:47:03- Really?- What's this? What's this?
0:47:03 > 0:47:04That's a bank.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07Ah-ha! What on earth is this?
0:47:07 > 0:47:09This isn't on any of the trench maps.
0:47:09 > 0:47:10Look at it!
0:47:12 > 0:47:14What?! Can you imagine coming across that? Bloody hell!
0:47:14 > 0:47:17You wouldn't want to fall in there in the dark, would you?
0:47:17 > 0:47:20- That's a quarry, isn't it? - That's huge. It must be a quarry.
0:47:20 > 0:47:22That's critical - if you're coming through the wood
0:47:22 > 0:47:26- and are suddenly faced with that and the Germans know it's here.- Yes. - That gives you a massive position.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30- Will this stop them in an attack? - You wouldn't want to go down there and try and get up the other side
0:47:30 > 0:47:34- if it's like this. - Especially with being shot at. - Well, you're like a rat in a trap.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39These quarries must be what showed up on the aerial survey.
0:47:39 > 0:47:41But after spending some time examining them,
0:47:41 > 0:47:45the archaeologists work out that they predate the war.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47So we're here, that's the track...
0:47:47 > 0:47:50It is not the vital evidence they were hoping for.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54But there's a second mark that's showed up on the survey
0:47:54 > 0:47:55over on the other side of the path.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03Oh, my goodness.
0:48:03 > 0:48:04Look at this!
0:48:04 > 0:48:07As soon as they get over and take a look,
0:48:07 > 0:48:09they realise they've found something very big.
0:48:09 > 0:48:11That's a real labyrinth of trenches, isn't it?
0:48:11 > 0:48:15Behind us, in front of us, going off over there, running through there.
0:48:15 > 0:48:17I've got to say, if you're going to defend this wood,
0:48:17 > 0:48:19it's a fantastic position to be.
0:48:22 > 0:48:27So with very little time left on the dig, it's all hands to the pump.
0:48:27 > 0:48:31They're working fast to figure out exactly what they've got here.
0:48:32 > 0:48:36It's back-breaking work, hacking through stony soil,
0:48:36 > 0:48:38but it doesn't take them long to determine
0:48:38 > 0:48:41that these are deep wartime trenches.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Looking at this, I reckon...
0:48:44 > 0:48:47- You've got clear topsoil.- Yeah.- Then you're coming down onto the chalk,
0:48:47 > 0:48:50and then you've got... All of that is the deposit.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53- Stuff that's been...- The deposit when they dug the trench.- Yeah.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55- Out it went.- That makes sense.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03Gareth wants to find out if this is the clinching evidence
0:49:03 > 0:49:04they've been looking for.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12So, Gareth, you've been down the bottom, you've seen some trenches.
0:49:12 > 0:49:13You haven't seen anything like this, mate.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15Look over here.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18All the way round here, all the way through there,
0:49:18 > 0:49:22all the way down through there, we've got a complete trench system.
0:49:25 > 0:49:28So all separate trenches, but interlinked?
0:49:28 > 0:49:30Yeah. All interlinked.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32You've also got what looked to us
0:49:32 > 0:49:35like lots of depressions in the ground, all these big mounds -
0:49:35 > 0:49:37they're possibly dugouts that have collapsed in.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40So you've probably got a major command centre,
0:49:40 > 0:49:42- something like that here. - Oh, my word! So this is massive?
0:49:42 > 0:49:44It is colossal, colossal.
0:49:44 > 0:49:46And we were racking our brains trying to think of anything
0:49:46 > 0:49:49comparable on the entire Somme battlefront and...
0:49:49 > 0:49:51I can't think of anything.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54There are a couple of other woods that have got this sort of thing in
0:49:54 > 0:49:56but nothing that I've seen on this scale.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01This network of defences is a major new discovery,
0:50:01 > 0:50:04one that would never have been made without the lidar survey.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09It's new information that finally helps explain
0:50:09 > 0:50:12why the Welsh Division had such a tough time clearing the wood.
0:50:14 > 0:50:15And you think of this.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18The scale of this thing, it's colossal,
0:50:18 > 0:50:21the Welsh troops don't know about it because it's not on the maps,
0:50:21 > 0:50:23it's not on their reconnaissance information,
0:50:23 > 0:50:27and they're coming straight at it through the woods from down there.
0:50:28 > 0:50:31It just shows the sheer endeavour and the heroism
0:50:31 > 0:50:35of those men 100 years ago to succeed against odds like this.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46It took the Welsh Division three days of tough, dirty fighting
0:50:46 > 0:50:48to finally end the battle.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54And by that point, there wasn't much of Mametz Wood left standing.
0:50:56 > 0:50:59In the light of what the archaeologists have discovered,
0:50:59 > 0:51:02perhaps now we can finally put to bed any accusations
0:51:02 > 0:51:06of lack of determination on the part of the Welsh troops.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37Before the Thomas family leave France,
0:51:37 > 0:51:41there's one last piece of the jigsaw puzzle to fill in.
0:51:41 > 0:51:44Andy has been busy exploring the historic records
0:51:44 > 0:51:47and he's learned more about Gareth's other great uncle, Edward Thomas.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51He has found out that Edward was part of a night attack
0:51:51 > 0:51:53in an area just to the east of Mametz.
0:51:57 > 0:52:01Right, you've probably worked out why we've come here.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04We're obviously looking here at what happens to Edward,
0:52:04 > 0:52:07your uncle, your great uncle.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09At the time, he's serving as Sergeant
0:52:09 > 0:52:12in the 10th battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15On the 16th, the commanding officers are told
0:52:15 > 0:52:17they're going to make an attack on the enemy
0:52:17 > 0:52:19and they're going to attack Lonely Trench
0:52:19 > 0:52:21and this is Lonely Trench here
0:52:21 > 0:52:24and the attacks will occur in darkness.
0:52:24 > 0:52:26So it was the element of surprise?
0:52:26 > 0:52:29That was the idea. Use the dark to get closer.
0:52:29 > 0:52:31But the darkness is a double-edged weapon.
0:52:31 > 0:52:34Yes, it gives you surprise, but what it doesn't necessarily do
0:52:34 > 0:52:38- is allow people to know where you are on the battlefield.- Yeah.
0:52:38 > 0:52:39They make an attack
0:52:39 > 0:52:44and they get to within about 15 yards of the German front line.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46But it all goes wrong.
0:52:47 > 0:52:50Our artillery open fire but they make a mistake.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52They drop short.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54They're not hitting the German trench -
0:52:54 > 0:52:56they're actually hitting no-man's land, with our men in it,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59and they get shelled by their own artillery.
0:52:59 > 0:53:00- Oh, my goodness! - And I've got here...
0:53:00 > 0:53:05Yeah. ..a list of all of the men that die
0:53:05 > 0:53:08and that is over 80 men killed.
0:53:08 > 0:53:10Here, Sergeant Edward Thomas.
0:53:10 > 0:53:15It says that he dies on the night of the 17th to the 18th.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21A confusion. Do you know what? The mad thing is, it doesn't shock me.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24Cos I've heard all the stories that all seem to be the same.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27- Like, there's some kind of confusion...- Yeah.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31and the communication was the thing
0:53:31 > 0:53:33that, kind of, was the let-down in the First World War.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36You can't have words for that. I just haven't got a word for it.
0:53:36 > 0:53:38I just have not got a word for it.
0:53:39 > 0:53:40Not at all.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45- BARRY:- And probably lying here somewhere.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47Yes. If they haven't been recovered,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49they may well have gone into a shell hole,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51or their mates put them into a shell hole.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53And then, after the war,
0:53:53 > 0:53:56if they weren't picked up when they cleared the battlefields,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58they could be here.
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Edward Thomas' body was one of thousands never recovered.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13Sometimes, corpses were trapped out of reach in no-man's land.
0:54:13 > 0:54:18And sometimes, after a direct hit, there was simply nothing left.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26We still probably have 200,000 missing.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28- Ah!- BARRY:- Oh!
0:54:39 > 0:54:42All the missing British and Commonwealth troops of the Somme
0:54:42 > 0:54:45are commemorated on the vast Thiepval Monument.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49It stands on a high ridge, just a few miles from Mametz Wood.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53And every single missing soldier had his name carved onto the walls
0:54:53 > 0:54:54of this vast mausoleum.
0:54:58 > 0:55:00Gareth's uncles are among them.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12There you go, boys.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15- Hmm.- Taken 100 years but...
0:55:16 > 0:55:18- Better late than never. - Yeah, definitely.
0:55:33 > 0:55:39Gareth, I know that you view this area as sacred soil.
0:55:39 > 0:55:43The place where so many young Welshmen shed blood.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47I'd like to present you something, if you could come forward.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50Everybody's packed up and ready to head for home
0:55:50 > 0:55:53but not before completing one last ritual.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Please accept this on behalf of our team.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00The archaeologists are giving Gareth something to remind him of the dig.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03A poppy pin made of shell metal from Mametz.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11- TEARFULLY:- Thanks to everyone for this.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13Erm...
0:56:15 > 0:56:20It's been an honour to be a part of this team, this process.
0:56:20 > 0:56:24I've learned a lot about my great uncles,
0:56:24 > 0:56:25a lot about the history of them.
0:56:27 > 0:56:28I've learnt a lot about myself
0:56:28 > 0:56:31but it's been great to do it with so many great people.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33Erm...
0:56:33 > 0:56:34People I massively respect.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36Erm...
0:56:36 > 0:56:37Heroes amongst us.
0:56:40 > 0:56:42Sometimes, you think you do things in life
0:56:42 > 0:56:44that can't make you any more proud
0:56:44 > 0:56:49and I thought playing for Wales was, for me, the ultimate thing.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51But I think finding out this story
0:56:51 > 0:56:53and not just of William and Edward
0:56:53 > 0:56:57but the story of everybody is...
0:56:58 > 0:57:00..definitely a moment that...
0:57:00 > 0:57:04that matches any pride I had when I wore a Welsh rugby jersey.
0:57:04 > 0:57:06- HE SNIFFS - Thanks. Cheers.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14APPLAUSE
0:57:25 > 0:57:29They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old.
0:57:29 > 0:57:32Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
0:57:32 > 0:57:37At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46Ladies and gentlemen, the 38th Welsh Division.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48The Welsh Division.
0:58:04 > 0:58:06SHE SOBS