LEADING ARTICLE: Legacy of the Somme still haunts Province.

(From Newsletter)

EIGHTY nine years ago today thousands of Ulstermen died at the Somme in a battle which will go down in the historical annals as one of the most brutal military engagements in modern times.

Indeed, it is recorded that more than 5,000 soldiers of Irish birth died when going over the top on July 1, 1916 in horrendous trench warfare against German forces and the dreadful events on that day threw a very dark shadow over many homes on this island.

Look around the war memorials in the cities, towns and villages of Northern Ireland and it is evident from the amount of space given to the names of those who served and died at the Somme that the contribution to British soldiering during this period was significant and far-reaching in human terms.

Those who survived the harrowing experience of the Somme battle told of hellish, nightmarish conditions where those on the frontline became cannon fodder in a staging post conflict of a war that primarily started with a shot fired in anger in the Balkans and engulfed Europe and other parts of the world for five long years.

More than any other battle in modern times, the Somme is synonymous with the kind of heroics uniquely performed by Ulster soldiers in the uniform of the Crown and a special pride resonates with local families whose grandfathers and great uncles fought with distinction on the fields of France and Belgium.

The annual pilgrimage to the Somme ...