:00:43. > :00:45.It was really a pity to have a war on July the 1st,
:00:46. > :00:48.for in all my time it was the most beautiful day we had.
:00:49. > :00:50.The sky was cloudless and the sun shone.
:00:51. > :00:53.The skylarks were singing as they flew heavenwards
:00:54. > :01:04.thousands of our soldiers were on their way there too.
:01:05. > :01:06.Good morning from Thiepval in northern France
:01:07. > :01:11.commemorating the events of a century ago.
:01:12. > :01:17.saw the start of one of the bloodiest battles in history,
:01:18. > :01:20.the Battle of the Somme, which lasted four months,
:01:21. > :01:25.and left more than a million men dead, injured or captured.
:01:26. > :01:27.We've just heard the words of Bombardier RH Locke
:01:28. > :01:32.recalling his memories as thousands of soldiers
:01:33. > :01:35.prepared for battle a hundred years ago,
:01:36. > :01:39.waiting for the signal that would come at Zero Hour, or 0730.
:01:40. > :01:42.We'll be marking that moment in just under 30 minutes' time.
:01:43. > :01:45.The country will pause for a national two-minute silence
:01:46. > :01:50.when it's 7.28 in the United Kingdom.
:01:51. > :01:52.The many vigils which started last night,
:01:53. > :01:54.both here in France and across the United Kingdom,
:01:55. > :02:18.and they'll come to an end when Zero Hour is reached.
:02:19. > :02:20.Later this morning, we'll be following
:02:21. > :02:25.the major commemoration organised here in Picardy
:02:26. > :02:30.which bears the names of more than 72,000 British and
:02:31. > :02:34.South African servicemen with no known grave who died on the Somme.
:02:35. > :02:37.The event will be attended by thousands of guests,
:02:38. > :02:45.including heads of government and members of the Royal Family.
:02:46. > :02:48.But here in France, it's already 8:05 in the morning,
:02:49. > :02:50.and ceremonies have already been held on the Somme
:02:51. > :02:53.to mark the centenary of the start of the battle,
:02:54. > :02:56.when thousands of British and French troops
:02:57. > :02:58.launched a colossal offensive against the German army.
:02:59. > :03:01.One of those ceremonies took place
:03:02. > :03:03.at a site called the Lochnagar Crater
:03:04. > :03:10.some two and a half miles south of where we are at Thiepval.
:03:11. > :03:11.The huge crater was made by a British mine
:03:12. > :03:25.which exploded beneath the German lines
:03:26. > :03:27.on the morning of the 1st July 1916 at 7:28am.
:03:28. > :03:29.The crater has been preserved as a memorial,
:03:30. > :03:36.where a service is held on the 1st of July every year.
:03:37. > :03:39.Whistles being blown as they were on the trenches that morning to send
:03:40. > :03:51.the men over the top. The troops named their trenches
:03:52. > :03:54.after familiar places at home. The trench that was used to plant
:03:55. > :04:03.the mine was Lochnagar Street. That's been taking place in the last
:04:04. > :04:24.few minutes. The military vigil vigil came to an
:04:25. > :04:36.end. The final vigil vigil lasted 30 minutes. This one was 30 minutes.
:04:37. > :04:57.Observed by British Army personnel including rifleman Harry Gibbs.
:04:58. > :05:08.One of those who had the honour of taking part in that vigil there is
:05:09. > :05:12.with my colleague Dan Snow. Yes, Harvey, what was it like standing at
:05:13. > :05:15.the vigil last night? It was really good. What was going through your
:05:16. > :05:19.head as you stood there? I thought about the family that were here and
:05:20. > :05:24.it's hard to take it in what happened. It's a good experience.
:05:25. > :05:29.How old are you now? 19. How old were you when you joined the Army?
:05:30. > :05:34.17. You are the age of men of these young men who charged up this slope
:05:35. > :05:37.we are standing on now and were butchered 100 years ago right now.
:05:38. > :05:41.What makes you go over the top, what makes someone your age with your
:05:42. > :05:44.mates go over the top? I think if you train, I think you get a massive
:05:45. > :05:50.bond with the blokes you train with. I think that sort of is the reason
:05:51. > :05:53.why you go over. They trained and they fought and lived with them.
:05:54. > :05:57.Then ultimately they've died with them. That's what made them go over.
:05:58. > :06:00.I guess it's unthinkable that you are standing there when the whistles
:06:01. > :06:05.go and you are not going to stay behind? No. Go over. And we have
:06:06. > :06:09.been talking about it, but actually there is also a little bit of
:06:10. > :06:14.excitement as well. You haven't ever been in a conflict zone but you are
:06:15. > :06:17.keen to go, aren't you? Yeah, I think we are training, with training
:06:18. > :06:22.there is no point doing that training and not to do anything with
:06:23. > :06:23.it. Actually we think of these young men as victims but some would be
:06:24. > :06:44.excited to be here? I think so. Especially with Kitchener's Army.
:06:45. > :06:48.Thank you. In London, at Westminster Abbey they're approaching the time
:06:49. > :07:01.when the vigils that started last night will be formally concluded.
:07:02. > :07:02.The national vigil will end and Kirsty is there to guide us through
:07:03. > :07:07.events. where a vigil has been held
:07:08. > :07:10.throughout the night to pay tribute to the soldiers
:07:11. > :07:12.who fought in the Battle of the Somme, to those
:07:13. > :07:17.who served behind the lines, and to remember the thousands
:07:18. > :07:19.who lost their lives As the vigil continues,
:07:20. > :07:27.the atmosphere in the abbey is one of quiet reflection,
:07:28. > :07:35.thought and prayer. There has been a steady stream
:07:36. > :07:38.of people through the doors since the first watch took post
:07:39. > :07:43.just under 11 hours ago. They have come to remember
:07:44. > :07:46.their own relatives, to pray, to light a candle,
:07:47. > :08:01.or quietly remember. And moments ago
:08:02. > :08:03.in Parliament Square, there was the arrival of the
:08:04. > :08:19.King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery. The gun and limber are each pulled
:08:20. > :08:34.by three pairs of horses. The King's Troop guns will be
:08:35. > :08:37.fired for 100 seconds to symbolically represent
:08:38. > :08:39.the week-long bombardment fired by the Royal Artillery
:08:40. > :08:41.on the Somme before the main infantry attack
:08:42. > :08:57.was launched 100 years ago. Commanded by their adjutant,
:08:58. > :09:02.Captain Amy Poskitt. the final watch will take post
:09:03. > :09:08.in around five minutes' time. the members of the public will be
:09:09. > :09:14.able to pay their final respects and the clergy will take position
:09:15. > :09:23.for this final act of remembrance. Currently, the men and women
:09:24. > :09:25.from the New Zealand military are standing watch together
:09:26. > :09:33.with pupils from Charter School. After the guns fall silent
:09:34. > :09:37.in Parliament Square. The actor Luke Thompson will give
:09:38. > :09:39.a reading in the abbey. Yesterday evening,
:09:40. > :09:41.he took part in the service, of a soldier's thoughts
:09:42. > :09:45.on the eve of the battle. This morning, he will read
:09:46. > :09:48.an account of the battle from Corporal George Ashurst
:09:49. > :09:50.of the Lancashire Fusiliers, as we approach the moment
:09:51. > :09:52.of Zero Hour. Last night, George Ashurst's
:09:53. > :09:54.grandson Philip Simm and his wife were in the
:09:55. > :10:00.congregation for the abbey service. And then just before
:10:01. > :10:02.half past seven, the country will pause to join
:10:03. > :10:05.in a national two-minute silence. One minute to remember those killed
:10:06. > :10:08.and one minute to remember those who came back
:10:09. > :10:16.from this harrowing battle. It will be broken by whistles
:10:17. > :10:19.being blown, a haunting sound. the signal to the men in the
:10:20. > :10:32.trenches to go over the top. We'll be back with Kirsty
:10:33. > :10:34.at Westminster Abbey in a short while
:10:35. > :10:36.for the national silence. So at this time
:10:37. > :10:42.a hundred years ago, in this region of Picardy
:10:43. > :10:44.around the River Somme, A deafening artillery bombardment
:10:45. > :10:47.had been going on, for seven long days, preparing
:10:48. > :10:51.the way for around 100,000 men to go over the top
:10:52. > :10:54.to attack the German lines. But here's a basic question
:10:55. > :10:57.to understand why events are taking place here
:10:58. > :10:59.at Thiepval today - why did this offensive take place
:11:00. > :11:02.in this part of northern France, war had been raging in Europe
:11:03. > :11:16.for almost two years. The Allies and Central Powers had
:11:17. > :11:19.raised armies of millions of men. As they battled each other,
:11:20. > :11:23.cities fell, For the first time,
:11:24. > :11:31.modern weapons of war wreaked death
:11:32. > :11:35.on an industrial scale. Trenches stretched
:11:36. > :11:39.for over 400 miles. A stalemate set in
:11:40. > :11:41.along the Western Front. it was time for the French
:11:42. > :11:48.and British armies to strike a decisive blow
:11:49. > :11:55.against the Germans. as young men answered
:11:56. > :12:00.Lord Kitchener's call, and troops across the Empire signed
:12:01. > :12:03.up for the fight. powered a drive for munitions
:12:04. > :12:11.on an unprecedented scale. Together with the French, we had
:12:12. > :12:20.planned to attack at the Somme. But the Germans struck first
:12:21. > :12:22.with a massive assault on Verdun that was intended to
:12:23. > :12:26.bleed France white. The French had to defend and reduced
:12:27. > :12:29.their force on the Somme, so the main thrust of the offensive
:12:30. > :12:36.fell to the British Army. On June the 24th,
:12:37. > :12:39.a bombardment began, and over the next week more than
:12:40. > :12:42.one and a half million shells would be fired
:12:43. > :12:46.along a 14-mile front. intended to destroy
:12:47. > :12:52.German trenches, defences, Just before 7:30am,
:12:53. > :13:05.the bombardment paused. For the first time in seven days,
:13:06. > :13:10.the guns were silent. The British stood ready
:13:11. > :13:12.in the trenches, With me is the author and historian
:13:13. > :13:36.Richard van Emden, who in the course of his work
:13:37. > :13:38.has interviewed no fewer than 270 veterans
:13:39. > :13:57.of the Great War. Just build the picture for us. The
:13:58. > :14:01.men nr the trenches, they're waiting to go. They're dry-throated, very
:14:02. > :14:05.nervous. Looking at each other, am I going to survive? They would want to
:14:06. > :14:10.go, at this point now they would be desperate to get over. There is
:14:11. > :14:13.nothing worse than waiting for that final minute to tick down. The
:14:14. > :14:16.officer will be saying ten minutes, boys, nine minutes. All they would
:14:17. > :14:21.want to do is get over the top and get into action. It's a very cloudy
:14:22. > :14:25.and windy day here for 1st July, a contrast with 100 years ago. Very
:14:26. > :14:29.much so. It was a beautiful summer's morning. The Somme had been delayed
:14:30. > :14:33.for two days because the weather had been like this, raining and poor
:14:34. > :14:37.weather. They delayed it to 1st July but that morning was gorgeous,
:14:38. > :14:41.absolutely beautiful. I woke up this morning and I heard the chorus of
:14:42. > :14:46.the birds singing, I thought about the men who were here that day. When
:14:47. > :14:50.the bombardment was shattering the German trenches and lifted there was
:14:51. > :14:51.a moment of silence they all talked about, the birds singing and the
:14:52. > :15:01.bulful weather. What were the formal plans for that
:15:02. > :15:04.day in terms of military strategy, what they were aiming to achieve by
:15:05. > :15:09.the end of the fighting on the 1st of July? What was the plan? Well, in
:15:10. > :15:18.a sense, it almost depended who you spoke to. Field Marshal Haig had the
:15:19. > :15:23.idea of a breakthrough at this time. The man he delegated the job too,
:15:24. > :15:27.Rawlinson, was someone who said, take the German front line, stop,
:15:28. > :15:31.bring your artillery line up, go for the second line. That was a problem,
:15:32. > :15:36.because the stated objective was to break through the German front line,
:15:37. > :15:40.break through the German second line, and then get into open
:15:41. > :15:44.countryside. The problem was that the artillery lifted onto the German
:15:45. > :15:51.second line, but unfortunately for the British soldiers, the Germans
:15:52. > :15:54.were still in their front line - they were not dead, as had been
:15:55. > :15:57.expected. How soon was it apparent that the initial bombardment had not
:15:58. > :16:02.gone according to plan? Very soon for the people who were here. I knew
:16:03. > :16:07.a veteran called Walter, who went over the top a mile away from here,
:16:08. > :16:11.and he was in the fourth wave, and he went over three or four minutes
:16:12. > :16:16.after the whistles had blown. And he said, I knew I was going to die, I
:16:17. > :16:25.could see the men dropping, I could see we were being site to pieces. --
:16:26. > :16:28.scythed. For the men, the officers, they would have been fully aware
:16:29. > :16:34.that this was a catastrophe. The information had to get back, so the
:16:35. > :16:37.officers Furley back from the line, at corps headquarters, it would be
:16:38. > :16:43.an hour or two before they started to get a picture that it was going
:16:44. > :16:46.horribly wrong. -- further back. The numbers on that day, what happened
:16:47. > :16:52.in terms of losses, just underline, by the end of the 1st of July, what
:16:53. > :16:58.had happened? This was the worst day in British military history, without
:16:59. > :17:03.a shadow of doubt. 60,000 casualties, 20,000 dead, 40,000
:17:04. > :17:07.wounded. And the only way I can get a picture of that is to think of a
:17:08. > :17:11.football stadium packed to the rafters on match day, that is
:17:12. > :17:16.roughly the same sort of number. And the message from some of the men who
:17:17. > :17:19.managed to come back was what? What were they saying? This was a piece
:17:20. > :17:24.which I found incredibly poignant, actually after the fighting on the
:17:25. > :17:27.Thursday, and this man is joining a battalion that has been cut to
:17:28. > :17:31.pieces, and this is what he wrote. He said, there was a lot of
:17:32. > :17:34.aggression against these newcomers, we began to notice that the
:17:35. > :17:38.unfriendly attitude of the Tyneside is was not directed against us in
:17:39. > :17:42.particular but was their general attitude. They were only partially
:17:43. > :17:48.dressed, and what uniform they did where was in bad condition, no
:17:49. > :17:52.belts, very few hats. Most of them had cigarette hanging out of their
:17:53. > :17:56.lower lips, and their conversation consisted of a series of grunts.
:17:57. > :18:02.These fellows are not unfriendly, I thought, they are down and out, no
:18:03. > :18:07.spirit, no cheerfulness. That fellow over there, look at his eyes, he
:18:08. > :18:11.seems have dazed. Those men, look how they walk, dragging their feet.
:18:12. > :18:15.These fellows have suffered, and their memories are to be bid to be
:18:16. > :18:22.brushed aside, too near to be laughed away. What ghost is it that
:18:23. > :18:25.seems to be haunting them? Just a description of deep trauma.
:18:26. > :18:28.Absolutely, if you went over the top that day, the trauma you would
:18:29. > :18:32.experience, and I saw that with a dozen or more veterans I met who
:18:33. > :18:35.went over the top here. One literally just down that slope
:18:36. > :18:37.there, and it stayed with them for the rest of their lives. Richard, we
:18:38. > :18:42.will talk again later, thank you. As we draw closer to 7:30am
:18:43. > :18:44.in London, when a national silence
:18:45. > :18:45.will be observed, and the conclusion of the vigils
:18:46. > :18:48.which started last night, let's remember that in many
:18:49. > :18:50.locations throughout the UK, people continue to stand in silent
:18:51. > :19:03.vigil, as they have all night long. Not just in France, but as we say,
:19:04. > :19:09.across the UK too. County Down in Northern Ireland, at the Somme
:19:10. > :19:17.museum and memorial there, on a nice sunny morning, standing in silence.
:19:18. > :19:21.As they are in the centre of Cardiff, at the memorial there,
:19:22. > :19:32.which is visited by many thousands of people every year. And the
:19:33. > :19:37.unmistakable scene of Edinburgh Casal, and they have been standing
:19:38. > :19:42.vigil inside the castle at the Scotland War memorial all night. --
:19:43. > :19:49.Edinburgh castle. That will be ending too at precisely 7:30, when
:19:50. > :19:54.the church bells ring. So as we approach 7:30 in the UK, let's
:19:55. > :19:56.return to Westminster Abbey, the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, where
:19:57. > :20:00.the national vigil started last night in the presence of Her Majesty
:20:01. > :20:12.the Queen. Let's joint Kirsty once again.
:20:13. > :20:22.And so back in London, at Westminster Abbey, the last watch
:20:23. > :20:26.has just taken post. And we are looking at the King's Troop Royal
:20:27. > :20:31.Horse Artillery, who are standing waiting in Parliament Square for the
:20:32. > :20:34.moment when they will fire 100 seconds that will symbolically
:20:35. > :20:38.represents the week-long bombardment fired by the Royal Artillery on the
:20:39. > :20:42.Somme before the main infantry attack was launched a hundred years
:20:43. > :20:47.ago. All three guns that we are looking at now saw service in the
:20:48. > :20:50.First World War. One is said to have fired the first round of that first
:20:51. > :21:03.salvo at the Somme. King George VI decided that Horse
:21:04. > :21:08.Artillery should take place in the great ceremonies of state. In 1947,
:21:09. > :21:14.His Majesty inspected the newly formed riding trip and said that he
:21:15. > :21:18.wished it to be known as the King's Troop, and that is a wish that Her
:21:19. > :21:21.Majesty the Queen carried on. If they look familiar, they were
:21:22. > :21:25.recently seen on parade at Trooping the Colour, and they fired a gun
:21:26. > :21:26.salute to mark the 90th birthday of the Queen and also the Duke of
:21:27. > :21:47.Edinburgh's 95th. Now in Westminster Abbey
:21:48. > :21:49.the last watch has taken post. The five Footguards regiments of the
:21:50. > :21:52.Household Division are represented, the men holding vigil around
:21:53. > :21:54.the Grave of the Unknown Warrior from the Grenadier, Coldstream,
:21:55. > :22:27.Scots, Irish, and Welsh Guards. And as we look now inside the Abbey,
:22:28. > :22:32.we see representatives from around the Commonwealth, including
:22:33. > :22:35.Australia, India, South Africa and New Zealand. They have been
:22:36. > :22:40.participating in the vigil, reading stories, sharing the words of those
:22:41. > :22:48.who served or fought during the Somme.
:22:49. > :23:03.We see now that the case colour Sergeant, the commander of the
:23:04. > :23:10.vigil. He is Fijian, and has served with the Welsh Guards since 2002. He
:23:11. > :23:20.was deployed in Iraq, in Bosnia and Afghanistan and has recently
:23:21. > :23:24.returned from being a platoon Sergeant in Catterick. It is not
:23:25. > :23:26.just soldiers who have been commemorated during the vigil,
:23:27. > :23:32.throughout the night here at the Abbey. Sister Edith Appleton to be
:23:33. > :23:36.nursed injured and dying soldiers during the war and documented her
:23:37. > :23:40.experiences in a diary. In July, she wrote in her diary, of the much
:23:41. > :23:43.longed for advance through the next day. She talks about the arrival of
:23:44. > :23:51.hundreds upon hundreds of the wounded. And her nephew, Dick
:23:52. > :23:59.Robinson, spent some time in the Abbey throughout the evening, and he
:24:00. > :24:06.was with his wife Lisa. At six o'clock this morning, the life of
:24:07. > :24:11.Canadian gunner Lionel McAdam of the tenth Corps was a member. A unique
:24:12. > :24:14.individual, he was a Canadian who paid his own passage across the
:24:15. > :24:19.Atlantic to join the British Army after he was barred from joining the
:24:20. > :24:25.Canadian infantry. He was told that he was too short to join up, and so
:24:26. > :24:33.he came to the Somme, he was wounded in January 1917, and he lived in
:24:34. > :24:43.Toronto, happily, until his death aged 82 in 1973. And so in a moment
:24:44. > :24:46.the guns of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery will be fired for
:24:47. > :24:52.100 seconds to represent the week-long bombardment, fired 100
:24:53. > :25:23.years ago, by the Royal Artillery on the Somme.
:25:24. > :25:43.Number one... Fire! Number two, fire! Number three... Fire!
:25:44. > :25:53.GUNS FIRE Hundreds of men
:25:54. > :27:13.in full fighting kit, packing the front line
:27:14. > :27:18.and reserve trenches. We had all received
:27:19. > :27:20.our special instructions that the huge mine
:27:21. > :27:23.under Beaumont Hamel and the great explosion would be
:27:24. > :27:29.the signal to go over the top. We took up our position
:27:30. > :27:31.in a communication trench rather silently leaning
:27:32. > :27:39.against the side of the trench, wondering if we had
:27:40. > :27:41.much longer to live and suddenly brushing
:27:42. > :27:46.the ugly thought of death away. Just as the waiting
:27:47. > :27:48.was becoming unbearable and the terrible strain
:27:49. > :27:51.causing some men we felt a queer dull thud
:27:52. > :27:59.and our trench fairly rocked, and a great blue flame shot
:28:00. > :28:02.into the sky, carrying with it
:28:03. > :28:06.hundreds of tonnes of earth And so we end with the final
:28:07. > :33:31.haunting strains of the traditional Scottish lament
:33:32. > :33:35.Flowers Of The Forest, played by Lance Corporal
:33:36. > :33:40.Ritchie Spence of the Irish Guards, a man who knows all too well
:33:41. > :33:44.the risks and sacrifices of combat. Aged just 18,
:33:45. > :33:47.Ritchie himself was shot whilst he was serving
:33:48. > :33:50.in Afghanistan. So we are glad to see him
:33:51. > :33:53.here today, fit and well, and adding a significant note of
:33:54. > :34:04.beauty and solemnity to the morning. The abbey vigil has drawn
:34:05. > :34:06.to a close, something of a symbolic parallel
:34:07. > :34:15.to the moments a century ago when those young men were poised
:34:16. > :34:19.to go over the top Here and elsewhere
:34:20. > :34:32.around the country, as these vigils end and we head out
:34:33. > :34:36.to enjoy the first Friday of July, we will surely have pause to reflect
:34:37. > :34:40.on the impact of that battle and what the Great War poet
:34:41. > :34:42.Siegfried Sassoon, writing in 1916, called
:34:43. > :34:49.the "shaken hues of summer". that became the most tragic
:34:50. > :34:53.in the history of the British Army and changed the lives
:34:54. > :34:55.of so many families as they lost fathers, brothers,
:34:56. > :35:02.sons and uncles to battle. The Battle of the Somme
:35:03. > :35:04.was remembered today at Westminster Abbey
:35:05. > :35:06.and around our nation And with the conclusion of events
:35:07. > :35:36.at Westminster Abbey and across the UK, attention now
:35:37. > :35:39.turns to northern France, to the region of the Somme,
:35:40. > :35:42.and the immense sacrifice made by hundreds
:35:43. > :35:46.of thousands of soldiers in the long battle that began
:35:47. > :35:49.a hundred years ago this morning. And that will be the focus
:35:50. > :35:52.of the commemorative event that takes place here at Thiepval
:35:53. > :35:56.later this morning, attended by Prince Charles
:35:57. > :35:58.and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William,
:35:59. > :36:02.the Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry,
:36:03. > :36:05.with thousands of guests, including descendants of those who
:36:06. > :36:19.fought in the Battle of the Somme. Richard is still with me. That was
:36:20. > :36:22.very moving, not least because it's a very powerful reminder for today's
:36:23. > :36:27.younger generation really, lots of young people involved in these
:36:28. > :36:34.events which is a nice thing to see, a powerful reminder of people of
:36:35. > :36:40.their age, 17, 18, 19, preparing to go into battle 100 years ago. 16,
:36:41. > :36:43.15, the children who come out here now can see the graves of
:36:44. > :36:50.individuals who were no older than themselves. It's incredibly moving.
:36:51. > :36:52.I was here in 1986 and 91 at the Lochnagar Crater we saw and the
:36:53. > :36:58.priest said it's lovely to see people back here and he said I was
:36:59. > :37:03.here in 1976 and I was the only person and that spoke volumes to me
:37:04. > :37:06.about the growth in interest in the battlefields of the Great War and
:37:07. > :37:11.thousands come here now and so many of them are children, which is
:37:12. > :37:15.wonderful. What's changed? The focus clearly is much sharper now on what
:37:16. > :37:20.occurred in the Great War, there was a time when we focussed on the
:37:21. > :37:23.Second World War, I remember it as a schoolboy, all my history lessons in
:37:24. > :37:28.terms of war were about the Second World War. We hardly spoke about the
:37:29. > :37:32.World War I, what's changed? I think it was the acknowledgement we were
:37:33. > :37:37.about to lose that generation. For many years we were there. We could
:37:38. > :37:41.always talk to uncle Frank. Suddenly in the 1980s we became aware these
:37:42. > :37:46.men were not going to be here much longer and if they were to tell
:37:47. > :37:49.their story this was it, this was their moment. I found that, so many
:37:50. > :37:52.people said you must have met veterans who wouldn't talk about it.
:37:53. > :37:55.I said if I asked them ten years before they wouldn't have done. But
:37:56. > :37:57.at the end of their lives they thought if I don't talk about it
:37:58. > :38:12.now, I never will. Thank you. Events large and small are being
:38:13. > :38:15.held in the Somme region today. My colleague Sonali Shah
:38:16. > :38:18.is at one of them. The memorials of the
:38:19. > :38:20.Sheffield Memorial Park remember the men of
:38:21. > :38:44.the British Army's 31st Division I am standing in one of the original
:38:45. > :38:47.trenches and it was from here thousands of men would have gone
:38:48. > :38:52.across no-man's-land over there to meet their fate.
:38:53. > :38:58.This morning, those who died will be remembered across a number of
:38:59. > :39:11.services. We have already had people gathering here to remember the 720
:39:12. > :39:15.Acrrington Pals. Throughout the morning we will talk to those
:39:16. > :39:17.gathering here today to remember those that they lost.
:39:18. > :39:42.Thank you very much. One of the stakeholders, the
:39:43. > :39:48.Commonwealth War Graves Commission, they do important work. Let's join
:39:49. > :39:54.Dan again. Why are we here in Thiepval, of all the places why
:39:55. > :39:57.here? The memorial behind us is the largest Commonwealth war graves
:39:58. > :40:00.memorial in the world, it's the memorial to the Battle of the Somme,
:40:01. > :40:04.to the British and French armies who fought here and it's a place of
:40:05. > :40:07.commemoration for 72,000 men who have no known grave. The missing of
:40:08. > :40:12.the Somme. It's the perfect place for the event today. Also we are on
:40:13. > :40:14.the battlefield here. Now it's terrible, we have been - it's
:40:15. > :40:20.terrifying to think about it, 100 years ago to the second now we would
:40:21. > :40:27.have been hearing the rattle of machine gun fire. We are on the high
:40:28. > :40:32.ground here. Steep slopes all around. The Salford, the highland
:40:33. > :40:35.light infantry over there. It would have been a fierce fight but huge
:40:36. > :40:40.losses for the British. It wasn't until September this ground was
:40:41. > :40:43.taken. It was an objective on day one and wasn't taken until
:40:44. > :40:52.September. It tells you about the strength of the German defences,
:40:53. > :40:57.when the memorial was uncovered they discovered. Yesterday you were shown
:40:58. > :41:00.around the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. A huge
:41:01. > :41:04.privilege. Lots of stairs to climb, but the view from the top is
:41:05. > :41:10.incredible. You really get a special sense of the battlefield. You can
:41:11. > :41:13.see for miles. It's a really unique point to see the battlefield. What
:41:14. > :41:20.can we expect from the service that will be here today? I think it will
:41:21. > :41:24.be an evocative, poignant moving service. It's going to be fantastic.
:41:25. > :41:28.There is readings, contemporary writing. Poetry, songs and music. I
:41:29. > :41:33.very much encourage people to tune in. It will be very special. Such a
:41:34. > :41:37.huge job to organise. Lots of VIPs and international heads of states
:41:38. > :41:40.and things. It's a privilege for all of us here. Our gardeners will be
:41:41. > :41:44.out here tomorrow, and next month and next year. The job carries on.
:41:45. > :41:54.But today is a special day, for sure. Thank you very much.
:41:55. > :42:01.Yes, indeed. Glyn, who the other day was meeting us to do filming and we
:42:02. > :42:07.were talking about the fate of lots of Welsh troops on the 1st and 2nd
:42:08. > :42:12.and 4th July. They had a difficult time. Just in the last few minutes
:42:13. > :42:20.of this, before we take a break, and we look ahead to this commemoration
:42:21. > :42:24.at Thiepval, it's the centenary. You have underlined none of these old
:42:25. > :42:29.soldiers are with us any more, sadly. There is a special importance
:42:30. > :42:33.for this event today because we imagine that in years to come maybe
:42:34. > :42:38.the focus that we have today will not be quite as sharp as we move on,
:42:39. > :42:43.as lives move on and we focus on other events too. Really important
:42:44. > :42:56.to underline the significance of today. Yes, today is so different
:42:57. > :43:03.from the Battle of Waterloo, we are still interconnected still with the
:43:04. > :43:08.people who fought and died here, I can look at dozens of names and
:43:09. > :43:13.brothers or fathers of people I knew. That's so common for many
:43:14. > :43:18.people here. They want to see where is uncle Fred's name, and that name
:43:19. > :43:22.has been passed down generations. It's that connection. I understand
:43:23. > :43:28.it's 100 years and it's a big day. It's a huge day. This is it, we are
:43:29. > :43:31.paying rightful respect to that generation but we are also saying
:43:32. > :43:33.goodbye. We will never have a commemoration like this again.
:43:34. > :43:39.Richard, we will talk later on. Thank you so much. We will be back
:43:40. > :43:44.here at Thiepval in 90 minutes on BBC One for the main commemorative
:43:45. > :43:48.event on this centenary of the opening day of the Battle of the
:43:49. > :43:51.Somme. There are live updates on the commemorations happening throughout
:43:52. > :43:56.the UK and in France on the BBC website. There is the address. For
:43:57. > :44:05.now, from Richard and me, thank you for watching. We will see you at 9.
:44:06. > :44:13.15am and we will leave you with enduring images. Goodbye.