THE SOMME - Bicyle tour -Summer 2009

War graves cemetery

War graves cemetery

AW at the Lochnagar Crater. The crater was created by a massive detonation of explosives to signal the start of the Somme offensive on 1st July 1916.

Trench networks on the Somme battlefield

Trench networks on the Somme battlefield

Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme

First World War Museum in the town of Peronne. I was amazed by this display of rusting artifacts, helmets and so on which were dug up from the battlefield over the years by a local farmer.

My tour:

The Battle of the Somme was a tragic event in history. On the first day of the battle, 1st July 1916, the British Army lost 57,470 casulaties of whom 19,240 were killed or died later from their injuries.

After my attempt to cycle the classic challenge 'Le Raid Pyrenean' in southern France I took a night train to Paris and then a local train to Amiens. In Amien I went to the tourist office and gathered details of the Somme battlefield tour route. It is a marked route or trail, visiting sites related to the battle.

Since visiting the Somme I went on to watch the entire DVD series of 'The Great War'. My interest was to find out more about a war of which I knew little detail.