MALVERN is to host a special service next week to commemorate those who lost their lives in one of the most ‘bloodiest’ war battles of all time.
The ceremony will mark exactly 100 years to the date when the whistle blew to mark the start of the Battle of the Somme in France which was held during the First World War and was fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire.
It will be held at Malvern Library’s War Memorial at 7am on Friday, July 1 and has been organised by Malvern Town Council.
Thousands lost their lives including dozens of Malvern residents with some being former pupils of Malvern College.
Representatives of Malvern’s churches, community groups, schools, businesses and other organisations will deliver readings of contemporary letters, news reports and poetry, and there will be an opportunity to lay crosses before the vigil ends.
Malvern Library will be opening early after the vigil to unveil an information display and family history activities focussing on the Somme.
A statement from the Town Council said: “At 0728 on Friday July 1 1916, following prolonged artillery bombardment, whistles blew to send men ‘over the top’ and into the Battle of the Somme, which was fought until 18 November, at such terrible cost that it has come to symbolise the tragic futility of the First World War.
“Its first day of conflict remains the bloodiest day in the history of the British army, with nearly 60,000 casualties, of which almost 20,000 were killed.”
For further details please contact Eadwine Brown at Malvern Town Council on 01684 566 667 or email [email protected].
