01/07/2016
Today marks the 100th year anniversary of the Battle of Somme, Earlier, a UK-wide two-minute silence at 07:28 BST marked the start of the World War One battle on 1 July 1916. Our thoughts go out to all those who lost their lives and fought in the battle. As a sign of respect we have lowered our flag on our Head Office in Bristol.
More than a million men were killed or wounded on all sides at the Somme. The Battle of the Somme, one of WW1's bloodiest, was fought in northern France and lasted five months, with the British suffering almost 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. The British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front.
Andrew Thorne our Managing Director's great grandfather Private Nelson Tilly was in the Somerset Light Infantry on that fateful day. He went over the top and thankfully returned and survived the first World War and came back up after serving 25 years in the British Army. He also served in South Africa, France, Gallipoli, his serial number was 4613
