1 July 1916 marked the beginning of the bloodiest battle in history. Over five months, the Somme Offensive would result in over 300,000 deaths and well over 1 million casualties. While the New Zealand Division entered the Somme on the 15th of September, we remember the efforts and awful sacrifices of our Allies 109 years later.

To mark this sombre anniversary, members of the Te Arawhata team attended commemorations and memorials across region of the Somme. The first stop was the Thiepval memorial, the largest Commonwealth Memorial to the missing, with the names of over 72,000 French, British, and South African soldiers who lost their lives on the Somme recorded in stone.
The team also took some time to pause at the memorials to the New Zealanders at Longueval and to the South Africans at Delville Wood, before attending a commemoration for the Newfoundlanders at Beaumont-Hamel.
Newfoundland, now part of Canada, had many similarities to New Zealand during the Great War. Two new Dominions, eager to prove themselves with a desire to take part in a great adventure, doing their bit for the Empire. The reality, of course, proved very different, with both countries enduring terrible hardship.
The experience of the Newfoundlanders on the Somme was particularly horrifying. Over 800 men went over the top on the 1st of July and by the next morning, only 68 presented as fit at roll call. The ceremony was very moving with the anthems of Newfoundland and France sung by members of the Canadian Memorial Youth Volunteer Programme. Te Arawhata has a strong relationship with the Canadians on the Western Front today and it was an honour to be invited to pay our respects.
