The Somme and Birmingham

The Somme is largely considered to be one of the bloodiest battles certainly in modern history. It was the largest battle of the First World War and began on the 1st of July 1916 and ended on the 1st of November in the same year.

Lasting 141 days, the battle took the lives of an estimated 420,000 British soldiers, 200,000 French soldiers and 465,000 German soldiers. Within the first day of the offensive 57,000 British soldiers were lost and 2,000 French soldiers. In Birmingham alone as many as 230 men died on the first day. These numbers are inconceivable to comprehend, which is why this project focused on highlighting individuals stories and soldiers who are lost in the statistics.

From the dates of the deaths on graves in Lodge Hill Cemetery, it is easy to identify people likely to have been injured at the Somme, and a little research can confirm where soldiers had been injured.It is also important to highlight that the Battle of the Somme was initially an offensive against the Germans, pursued in the hope of relieving French troops at Verdun by diverting German soldiers to the Somme. The battle is so named due to it’s proximity to the Somme River, where the majority of the fighting ensued within the period. One of the main criticisms of the battle by historians has often been that the British troops were mainly made up of recently recruited volunteers, who were not necessarily well prepared or equipped for such an offensive. In the first week alone 1,738,000 shells were fired at the Germans, indeed indicating at the future difficulty and continuous struggle faced by both Germany and the Allies in the violent battle which remains one of the most horrific and shocking in world history.

Battle of the Somme in numbers David Wilcock, The Independent Wednesday 29 June 2016

The Battle Of The Somme CN Trueman The History Learning Site, 17 April 2015. 16 Aug 2016

The 230 men of Birmingham who died on the first day of the battle of the Somme, Alessandro Sorrentino, The Birmingham Mail 13 November 2016

Over the Top Marcus Belben Peoples Heritage Cooperative 18 July 2016

Private Fred Andrews served with the 1/6th battalion of the Royal Warwicks and took part in ‘the big push’ on the Somme in July 1916. He came from a working-class family in Ladywood, Birmingham. He was an officer’s servant. In BM&AG collection there is a set of letters written by Fred to his mother and sister, which give an insight into Fred’s life on a training camp on Salisbury Plain and later as part of the British Expeditionary Force in France.

From the last letter Fred wrote home, recieved by his Mum on 30th June:

'Dear Mum, Will you please give Ollie [Fred’s girlfriend] my love, and address when you see her. They are a very nice lot of chaps that I am with now. And we get plenty of food to eat. I will close now with very Best Love to you all, and Ollie. Do not worry I hope the war will soon be over now. Things are looking up here. Love to all, Fred xxx’.

His mother later found out Fred had died on the first day of the battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916.

Please also see the stories of William Leslie Arnold and Charles Horace Cox who were injured at the Somme and buried in Lodge Hill Cemetery.