Battle Of Somme Fallen Remembered 100 Years On

The tens of thousands of soldiers who gave their lives on the first day of the Battle of the Somme have been honoured at commemorations in the UK and France.

As dawn broke on 1 July, 1916, there was a momentary silence before the whistles blew and thousands of British and French rose from their secure muddy trenches and climbed over the top to walk slowly towards the enemy's front line.

As they stepped into no man's land - riddled with barbed wire and land mines - the peace was broken by the sound of machine guns as the Germans started their deadly slaughter.

The battle would last 141 days and see both sides lose 1.2 million brave souls.

Around 20,000 British troops were killed on the first day of the bloody battle alone, while tens of thousands more were maimed or wounded.

It came to symbolise the horror of trench warfare, with the front line barely shifting despite the slaughter of troops on both sides.

The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron joined French president Francois Hollande in remembering those who sacrificed their lives for their country during a ceremony at the Thiepval Memorial on the former battlefield in the Picardy region of France.

They were joined by other senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cornwall.

Kate told schoolchildren taking part in the event she was found her visit "emotional" and "very moving".

The Battle of the Somme, a lament, was played by bagpipes as British children laid wreaths at French graves and vice versa.

Some 10,000 people were invited and watched the ceremony which included Army personnel and music from military bands.

The Duchess of Cornwall later visited the grave of her great uncle, Captain Harry Cubitt, who was the eldest of three sons killed and the only one whose body was found.

She said it was an emotional visit and added: "It is such a long time ago and it made me suddenly realise what it must have been like for my great grandparents, to have three sons within 18 months of one another being killed."

Among the guests in Thiepval was Marianne Palmer-Smith, whose grandfather, George Clifford Sullivan Hayes OBE, was a Surgeon-Major on the Somme and suffered from post-traumatic stress (shell shock) during his remaining years.

"My grandfather had a living death until he died," she told Sky News.

"Straight after he went to South Africa and took a post in a hospital, but he lasted a year and then had to come back."

She said of her first visit to Thiepval: "It is so impressive, so emotional.

"It is a beautiful place to commemorate such a bloody war where so many men showed such bravery and courage.

"We are here to remember them. History must never be repeated."

Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, also attended and said: "There is too much sorrow, too much loss.

"You have to ask what else can you do but weep? It is just a cause of the deepest possible sorrow.

"In the loss of the individuals there is grief and tragedy in the utmost scale.

"There is a sense that human evil is so great at times, and in certain places, that not only do we find ourselves killing each other but sometimes causes arise where you have to resist evil with force."

At the Lochnagar Crater at La Boiselle - a lasting remnant of the battle - The Last Post was played and people linked hands and scattered poppy petals into its centre.

Hundreds of young men in period costume could be seen across the UK handing out cards with the details of a different soldier who died on this day 100 years ago as part of a living memorial project in tribute to victims of the Somme.

In Manchester, wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph in St Peter's Square, while images were beamed on to the White Cliffs of Dover to mark the anniversary.

Earlier, as the nation fell silent for two minutes at 7.28am, a night-long vigil at Westminster Abbey to remember the deadliest battle in British history came to an end with a gun salute in Parliament Square.

During the service, which was also attended by the Queen, prayers were said for the First World War dead and hymns were sung by the congregation which included descendants of the men who fought at the Somme.

The World War I battle was seen as a military tragedy for Britain and Commonwealth countries.

Mr Cameron has said the 100-year commemoration allows people to "reflect on the sacrifice not just of the thousands of British and Commonwealth troops who gave their lives, but of the men on all sides who did not return home."