Apr 11

November 11th 2017

It is always very special to be on the battlefields for Armistice Day and 2017 was no exception. To be in a place of such poignancy and atmosphere always adds greatly to one’s own feelings about war, sacrifice and remembrance. It might even seem appropriate that Ovillers greeted us with... read more →
Apr 11

The Lochnagar Labyrinth

Hopefully by now many Friends will have seen the 20 panels of the Labyrinth. We never quite knew how visitors would react to them, whether they would read the odd one, or just a few but we have been amazed that most people now go from one to the other... read more →
Apr 11
Apr 11

Joe Hubble – Eulogy

As many will know, one of our longest serving and best-loved Standard Bearers, Joe Hubble sadly died a short while back. With his impressive handlebar moustache, Black Watch beret and kilt, he was instantly recognisable and a wonderful sight silhouetted against the skyline behind the Cross every July 1st. Iain... read more →
Apr 11

Hawthorn Ridge crater

I am delighted to say that this important historical site has now been secured by a consortium led by Andy Robertshaw and the village of Beaumont Hamel. I know they will do a superb job in both preserving and researching the Crater and its significant role in the opening stages... read more →
Apr 09

The Street Memorials of St Albans

Meet Trooper Walter Bell. He’s remembered with a plaque on the Crater walkway and is buried in the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery near Albert. He was 20 when he was killed, on July 30th, 1916. But this young man from the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers is remembered back home at St Albans... read more →
Apr 05

A Photographer’s Eye

By Stephen Kerr For most visitors, the Somme is a photographer’s dream.  Sites like Lochnagar Crater, the cemeteries, memorials and woods, and the rolling landscape, are irresistibly photogenic. Stephen Kerr is a regular visitor to the Somme and has produced an impressive portfolio – including pictures taken from the air.... read more →
Apr 03

‘The Salt of the Earth’

Every now and again, words written by men who survived the slaughter on the battlefields a century ago echo through the years. Relationships made in appalling conditions can cascade through the generations. Many visitors to Lochnagar Crater, for example, will have seen a slim volume called Reflections of a Veteran,... read more →
Apr 01

The Day I Met Rawlinson at Lochnagar Crater

By Martin Middlebrook The name of Martin Middlebrook is inseparable from the name of the Somme. Nobody visiting the battlefield will be unaware of his ground-breaking work, The First Day on the Somme, first published nearly fifty years ago. It is still, to this day, an essential reference book. In... read more →
Mar 01