Captain Falkous in another letter describes some of his soldiers. " Murtagh and O'Connell of course are " real " Irish ( Very interestingly my surname is Murtagh. it is a very old Irish name, spanning hundreds of years. The Gaelic form is O Muirchearaigh meaning ' navigator ' ) Several of the other men are " Irish " in the English meaning of the word " Describing his men singing he says, " The English musical comedy songs weren't sufficiently satisfying, so we had to have several Irish folk songs and lullabies in the original Irish - a most musical if entirely incomprehensive tongue. "
Before the Battalion moved back into the line he managed to get a last letter away to his mother on the morning of the 30th in which he asked " You might keep any local cuttings relating to the T.I. will you ? They'll be plentiful enough i expext. " Further he wrote " The new officers are all out on the hill watching matters thro their glasses - quite like a group from one of these imaginative illustrated magazines. " He ended his last letter home " Once again dont worry if you're on short rations in the way of letters for a while, love to all, your affectionate son Rob."
Also writing to a loved one back in England was Captain George Swinburn. His letter to his sweetheart Phoebe reflects the mood of many men going into the battle.
Before the Battalion moved back into the line he managed to get a last letter away to his mother on the morning of the 30th in which he asked " You might keep any local cuttings relating to the T.I. will you ? They'll be plentiful enough i expext. " Further he wrote " The new officers are all out on the hill watching matters thro their glasses - quite like a group from one of these imaginative illustrated magazines. " He ended his last letter home " Once again dont worry if you're on short rations in the way of letters for a while, love to all, your affectionate son Rob."
Also writing to a loved one back in England was Captain George Swinburn. His letter to his sweetheart Phoebe reflects the mood of many men going into the battle.
The General: Siegfried Sassoon
Sadly This would be Captain Robert Falkous' last letter home, he was killed on the first day of the attack. He is commemerated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing Pier and face 10b 11b and 12b.
Friday 30th June 1916
My Dear Phoebe
My Dear Phoebe
I do not suppose i will have time to write you for a few days. I am fortunately in splendid health and quite look forward to the immediate future because it will be the means to an end. I hope that God will comfort you and bless you - personally i leave my future to him and do so with confidence,
Your own true love George.
Your own true love George.
That afternoon the Battalions of 103 Brigade, as in other formations, were paraded in hollow square and messages from the Commanding Generals were read out. Captain swinburn managed to keep a copy of a message from Brigadier-General Cameron the Brigade Commander.
103rd INFANTRY BRIGADE
SPECIAL BRIGADE ORDER
30th JUNE 1916
103rd INFANTRY BRIGADE
SPECIAL BRIGADE ORDER
30th JUNE 1916
Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and men of the 103rd Infantry Brigade.
In the past you have won for yourselves a very good name for soldierly conduct in the presence of the enemy and for hard work when necessity arises.
Remember this especially tomorrow.
Best wishes to all ranks for good luck
And complete success.
In the past you have won for yourselves a very good name for soldierly conduct in the presence of the enemy and for hard work when necessity arises.
Remember this especially tomorrow.
Best wishes to all ranks for good luck
And complete success.
Then that evening at 10 p.m the Brigade began to move foreward again making its way into the reserve trenches of the Tara - Usna - Becourt line. But tragedy was to strike the 24th Battalion before it ever arrived. As the Battalion was making its way towards the line it was detailed to collect bombs at a dump but somehow, as a platoon of A Company was at the dump, a bomb exploded, wounding eleven men and killing two, private John Pepper and Joseph Armstrong. The sight of the wounded and dead men before the battale began would not have been good for the morale of the men so the bodies were taken with the wounded to the casualty clearing station, where they were buried. As the battalions made their way forward, men shook hands and wished each other the best of luck for what lay ahead. The 26th Battalion was marching up through the Artillery positions when private Patrick Martin, from Willington saw his brother Frank working on the guns. There was just time for a brief hand shake and ' All the best ' before Patrick moved on towards the communication trenches.
The Infantry were being given last-minute orders and advice, although they were still not told the day or time of the attack. The leading battalions were to advance in a series of waves which had to enter No-Mans-Land at one minute intervals and move forward at a steady pace of no more than 100 yeards in every two minutes ( less than 2 miles per hour ) and were forbidden to cheer or shout in case the enemy heard them coming ( even though the brass hats expected all of the enemy to be dead ) If faced by resistance they were not to run until within twenty yards of the enemy so as not to become exhausted. It was like a vast complicated parade ground movement, carried out in slow motion. ' Assurance was given that the time honoured system of short rushes would in this instance, be unnecessary. The Infantrymen were also being issued with their full loads of equipment and were only just begining to realize the full weight of the burdens they would have to carry. Training had invariably been done without the full packs carried in action. A typical man from the first wave of assault troops in addition to his large pack, carried a rifle and bayonet, two gas helmets, 220 rounds of 303 ammunition, two grenandes ( which he was to give to the trained bomber to throw ) two empty sandbags, a spade, a pair of wire cutters, a flare and a variety of smaller items. The basic load was about seventy pounds and most men had more than this.
The Infantry were being given last-minute orders and advice, although they were still not told the day or time of the attack. The leading battalions were to advance in a series of waves which had to enter No-Mans-Land at one minute intervals and move forward at a steady pace of no more than 100 yeards in every two minutes ( less than 2 miles per hour ) and were forbidden to cheer or shout in case the enemy heard them coming ( even though the brass hats expected all of the enemy to be dead ) If faced by resistance they were not to run until within twenty yards of the enemy so as not to become exhausted. It was like a vast complicated parade ground movement, carried out in slow motion. ' Assurance was given that the time honoured system of short rushes would in this instance, be unnecessary. The Infantrymen were also being issued with their full loads of equipment and were only just begining to realize the full weight of the burdens they would have to carry. Training had invariably been done without the full packs carried in action. A typical man from the first wave of assault troops in addition to his large pack, carried a rifle and bayonet, two gas helmets, 220 rounds of 303 ammunition, two grenandes ( which he was to give to the trained bomber to throw ) two empty sandbags, a spade, a pair of wire cutters, a flare and a variety of smaller items. The basic load was about seventy pounds and most men had more than this.
Smiling faces from a lost generation, loaded up and heading towards the front line for the attack on the 1st July 1916
Taken from the official film called the Somme. You can see quite clearly the ammount of ammunition each man is carrying.
Taken from the official film called the Somme. You can see quite clearly the ammount of ammunition each man is carrying.
The men in the rear waves were given even heavier burdens such as duck- boards to be used for trench bridges, rolls of barbed wire and bundles of stakes for the barbed wire. One soldier wrote " My total load was about eighty pounds and my personal weight at that time was only eight stone. Some of the loads were given to the men showed great originality if some optimism: A long pole with a pennat attached, this was to be erected at a certain point as a marker for artillery. Carrier pigeons, two wine bottles full of water, and two signallers in the Tyneside Irish were given bags full of small pieces of paper. They were to follow the leading troops, laying a trail, so that other signallers could lay telephone wire after them.
The supreme confidence of Gen. Rawlinson that he would be able to take the German first line easily, having been impressed first upon his Corps Commanders, now began to find its way down the to the ordinary Soldier.
The hours and minutes were ticking away, but there was still time for senior officers to address the men from their battalions and give some words of encouragement.
The supreme confidence of Gen. Rawlinson that he would be able to take the German first line easily, having been impressed first upon his Corps Commanders, now began to find its way down the to the ordinary Soldier.
The hours and minutes were ticking away, but there was still time for senior officers to address the men from their battalions and give some words of encouragement.
