North Solihull remembers the Battle of the Somme

DARK DAY: The Battle of the Somme got underway on July 1, 1916.
24 men from Solihull were among the 20,000 Britons who died that day.

Other Solihull reports on the recent events in North Solihull to mark a century since the bloodiest day in the history of the British Military...

A LIFE-sized trench that snakes its way through the grounds of a local school was chosen as the setting for a special service to mark a century since the start of the Battle of the Somme.
Civic leaders stood side-by-side with students and members of the services to remember those who gave their lives in the infamous attempt to break the stalemate of the First World War.
Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Tim Watts, Meriden MP Caroline Spelman and the Mayor of Solihull Mike Robinson were among those who gathered to pay their respects at the CTC Kingshurst Academy.
Coun Robinson said: “It’s quite impossible for me to comprehend the devastation and suffering our soldiers must have endured.
“It’s a battle which has ingrained itself in our nation’s psyche. We must never forget the sacrifice those men made and we must forever honour their bravery.”
The day after the service, local residents were invited to explore the trench for themselves and Other Side of Solihull took the opportunity to see the fortifications first-hand.
It’s the size of the thing which strikes you. The channel cut into the playing fields is 6ft deep and 130ft long and is complete with a covered command bunker, first aid station and firing bays.

BRINGING HISTORY ALIVE: The CTC's trench

Ex-Army captain Carl Hoyes drew on his 30 years of military experience to ensure the trench, which was completed two years ago, was as authentic as possible.
Lee Fletcher, the CTC’s director of extended services, explained that the site had been designed to give pupils a real feel for what the conflict was like.
“We thought this made great use of this space and it helps to take history lessons out of the classroom,” he said.
Stepping down into the space, packed either side with sandbags, gives you a sense of the claustrophobia of those who would have been serving on the Western Front.
Peering over the top, through the barbed wire and blades of grass, I can see the tower blocks which stand a short way down the road.
Of course as a soldier on the front lines of the Somme I wouldn’t have dared scope my surroundings without the use of a periscope. Raising your head above the trench, even just for a moment, would make you an easy target for the snipers sitting ready on the other side of No Man’s Land.
When I reach the firing bays, one elderly gentleman offers a chilling insight into the ordeal of those who were ordered to attack on that fateful day 100 years ago.
“They were basically told to walk into machine gun fire. Two years’ training and you could be wiped out in the space of a few seconds.”