Friday July 1st 2016 is the 100th anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles in human history, and commemorations are taking place in the UK and France.

The Thiepval Memorial © Press Association

The Battle of the Somme, which took place in northern France, was one of the largest battles of World War One and over one million men were wounded or killed. The first day of the battle was the bloodiest day in the history of the British army, which saw over 57,000 casualties.  

On July 1st a series of commemorative events will be held in France, and in London and Manchester in the UK, to remember those who lost their lives on the French battlefields.

At 7.28am the UK will hold a national two minute silence to mark the moment the first wave of soldiers went ‘over the top’. It will follow the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery firing guns from Parliament Square in London for 100 seconds and a reading in Westminster Abbey.

The other commemorative events taking place include an evening service at Westminster Abbey on 30 June, attended by The Queen, followed by an overnight vigil at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior; a commemorative service at the Thiepval Memorial in France and a military parade and concert in Manchester.

150,000 servicemen are buried in 250 military and 150 civilian cemeteries on the Somme. More than 100,000 were never found or identified, and they are remembered in six memorials for the missing.

The Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme, near the village of Thiepval in Picardy, northern France, is one of the largest war memorials in the world and was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It commemorates more than 72,000 men who died in the Somme between 1915 and March 1918, more than 90 percent of them during the 1916 battle itself.

Janet Redler said: “The 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme is an important opportunity to remember the service and sacrifice of all those who lost their lives or were injured in the battle. The Thiepval Memorial is a moving reminder of those who died and a suitable focus for the commemorations, which anyone who has toured the World War One battlefields will know.”