Page 22 - QARANC Vol 14 No 13 2016

20 QARANC THE GAZETTE
The Somme Vigil – 30 June – 1 July 2016
It has been a hundred years since the Battle of the Somme. Most people will have learnt about World War One & Two in history at school; some will have had relatives who fought in both wars and if they were lucky they may have got to speak to them and understand from a soldier’s point of view. But there were a significant number of the older generation who wouldn’t speak about the horrors of war and what they had experienced. I know this was the case for my grandfather who served with the Corps of Signals during 1939-1945. War was not something that was spoken about and neither was his military service.
I didn’t know my great grandfather, although I do know that he served with the London Regiment during 1914- 1918. They and I were lucky that they came back, but so many who served didn’t. I have served in both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts with 256 (City of London) Field Hospital and although we did tend to the injured and dying, it was nothing in comparison to what was experienced during the Somme Offensive. The British Army suffered 57,470 casualties (19,240 of these died) during the first day alone, a staggering number in comparison to other conflicts. The Army at the time comprised of Kitchener’s Army (a force of volunteer recruits including many Pals Battalions, The Territorial Force and what remained of the pre-war
Regular Army.
I have now served for over 22 years
in the military and throughout all that time one of the most important events that you can take part in is the act of Remembrance. I believe it is vital to understand and recognise the sacrifice that others have made for their country. Every year, I take part in Remembrance in November as most of us do, but this year I had the honour to take part in the commemorations of the Battle of the Somme.
Events were planned throughout the country and abroad to mark this centenary, with overnight vigils taking place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in London, in Manchester, Cardiff, Scotland and at the Thiepval Memorial in France, to name but a few.
To be asked to take part in such an auspicious event was an honour for me and one I volunteered for without hesitation. The vigil started at 2000hrs on the 30 June with five military personnel taking position around the Tomb in Westminster Abbey, one on each corner and one Commander. Interspersed between the military, however, were four civilians, also paying their respects.
Each vigil lasted for fifteen minutes and was timed perfectly by the staff from the Army School of Ceremonial & Drill Instructors who assisted us with our drill movements and coached us with practice runs beforehand. This latter element was vital to ensure that the vigil went off with military precision but also to allow our civilian element to practice, before marching beside us into the Abbey and to take over from the previous guard.
My guard was tasked with 2 vigils overnight; the first one at 2300 – 2315hrs and the second from 0515
– 0530hrs. For each vigil we had to attend the rehearsal one hour prior to marching on, which meant that for us to be perfect in our presentation we needed to be up and getting dressed at least 30-45 minutes beforehand. It was going to be a long night!!
We were billeted in the Gymnasium at Wellington Barracks, a short walk from the Abbey and a large enough space to be able to hold the large amount of military personnel that were taking part. We were issued ‘Camp Cots’ in the vain hope that we may be able to sleep at some point during the night, although this did prove challenging with the lights staying on and the constant sound of people moving around, getting ready or coming back in and getting undressed. This was to be expected and not something that could have been avoided.
Our first rehearsal took place at