RELATIVES of soldiers who died in the First World War are being offered a unique opportunity to visit their graves during this year’s remembrance season.
Thousands of Worcestershire men were killed or wounded during the battles of the Somme and Ypres, the two main theatres of combat on the Western Front during the 1914-18 conflict.
The Somme has become a byword for the suffering of a generation. On the first day of the battle – July 1, 1916 – more than 20,000 British soldiers lost their lives. It went down in history as the blackest day of the British Army.
Birmingham War Research Society organiser Alex Bulloch MBE said: “Many men from Worcestershire were heavily involved in the fighting at Ypres and on the Somme.
“Tom Turrall of the Worcestershire Regiment won a Victoria Cross for saving the life of a badly wounded officer at La Boisselle during the Somme fighting.”
Ypres was the scene of three great battles. The third, better known as Passchendaele, has come to symbolise the suffering and waste of trench warfare.
Mr Bulloch said: “Our organisation takes relatives to the graves of those who fell and the trip includes the Armistice service held annually at the Menin Gate in Ypres.”
The trip runs from November 8-12.
For more information, call Mr Bulloch on 0121 459 9008.
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