The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, alongside Prince Harry, spent the evening of Thursday, June 30, paying tribute to soldiers killed 100 years ago in World War I’s Battle of the Somme, during an overnight tribute in France.
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Somme, one of World War One’s bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering nearly 60,000 casualties on the first day alone.
The royal trio attended the service at Thiepval Memorial alongside the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Irish President Michael Higgins and French President Francois Hollande.
Year nine pupils from Alun School in Mold visited graves and memorials of those who fell for their country during the bloodiest battle in British history.
The participants who walked the streets today were a reminder of the 19,240 men who were killed on July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Each of them laid a flower crown on the 600 British and French graves of the cemetery. The British and French had gained 12km of ground.
Many descendants of soldiers, often wearing poppy and cornflower pins – the British and French symbols to remember those who died – attended the solemn event, the Associated Press reported.
The project did more than echo history – it made the battle relevant to present day.
It was to have been sung by the cathedral choir 100 years ago but it did not happen due to so numerous choir members going off to war. “We’re going to be standing together and remembering the sacrifices all those years ago”.
“History connects us”, Hollande said Wednesday at a tense and emotional European Union summit focused on how to cope with Britain’s departure.
Adrian Vinken OBE, Chief Executive, Theatre Royal Plymouth said: “We feel very privileged to be one of the few theatres nationally that were asked to be part of we’re here because we’re here”.
The inspiration for the “We’re Here Because We’re Here” (a reference to a song sung by soldiers in the trenches) project came from families who reported seeing visions of their deceased loved ones, according to the theater.
Commemorations have also been taking place across Northern Ireland on Friday.
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In addition, there will be events across the United Kingdom and in France to commemorate the start of the battle – including a two-minute silence at 11am.
