Current Information:

Age-22

36, Bedford Hill, Balham

Peake Wood Cemetery, Fricourt, Somme

The Battle of the Somme (July-November, 1916)

On 1st July 1916 The British Army launched a massive offensive along a section of the front line running north of the River Somme. The French attacked south of it. The first day was a disaster for the British army which suffered nearly 60,000 casualties, 19,000 of whom were killed, and made hardly any inroads into the enemy lines. But the battle had to go on, if for no other reason than to relieve pressure on the French at Verdun where they had been facing the full onslaught of the powerful German Army. So it continued all the way through to November with nearly every battalion and division then in France being drawn into it at some stage. In the end the German trenches had been pushed back a few miles along most of the line but the cost in lives had been staggering. By the end of the fighting in November, 1916, British Army casualties numbered over 400,000, killed, wounded and missing.

The days immediately following the carnage of July 1st on  the Somme, had two main priorities. They were to rescue the wounded and to consolidate what gains had been made. However, despite the slaughter of 1st July, there was no going back. This was the “Big Push” and the attacks had to continue and Haig decided that they would continue on the southern sector of the front where the few successes had occurred.

On 7th July, 1916, 24 Brigade of 8th Division, at that time temporarily attached to 23rd Division, attacked the village of Contalmaison. Much delayed by  the communication trenches being blocked by mud, dead and wounded, the attack did not start until 10am when 1st Worcestershire, deployed in the open and advanced from the southern end of Pearl Alley. On their left 2nd East Lancashire moved forward from Shelter Wood. 1st Worcestershire forced their way into Contalmaison despite machine-guns opening up on them as they breasted the slope. Within half an hour they had cleared the village as far as the church and repulsed two enemy counter attacks. 2nd East Lancashire’s advance over lower ground was impeded by a sudden rainstorm, mud and heavy machine-gun fire and they did not reach Contalmaison. Despite heavy shelling of the village, 1st Worcestershire continued fighting there all afternoon until their ammunition ran out ran out and they fell back and consolidated to the south and west of the village. 24 Brigade’s casualties for this operation amounted to 800, and included Albert Holford of 2nd East Lancashire.