Past times
Battle of the Somme tribute
The Battle of the Somme began on July 1 , 1916 , and lasted until November 19 . Those 141 days saw 19,240 Allied soldiers die on the first day alone . A field of poppy crosses at Serle ’ s House was created as part of the 100th anniversary .
Lieutenant Colonel Colin Bulleid , secretary , The Royal Hampshire Regiment Trust , which is based at Serle ’ s House , Winchester , said : “ There are 1,280 crosses – one for every member of the Hampshire Regiment who was killed during the Somme Campaign . The Regiment had just over 8,000 killed in the whole War .”
The nearby Peninsular Barracks site , adjacent to Winchester ’ s Great Hall , is home to The Royal Green Jackets ( Rifles ) Museum , which opened in 1989 and is one of Winchester ’ s five military museums .
With Centenary of First World
War events generating ongoing interest , the latter ’ s new displays place great emphasis on the human dimension , the Home Front , the impact of the War upon families and Remembrance .
Running until September 11 , there is a special exhibition , ‘ Blood- Soaked Fields : Waterloo and the First Day of the Somme Compared ’. www . serleshouse . co . uk www . rgjmuseum . co . uk
Aftermath
Siegfried Sassoon ( 1886-1967 ) wrote Aftermath in 1919 . The poem was read by Charles Dance during the Battle of the Somme commemoration at Thiepval Memorial .
Have you forgotten yet ?… For the world ’ s events have rumbled on since those gagged days , Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways : And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow Like clouds in the lit heaven of life ; and you ’ re a man reprieved to go , Taking your peaceful share of Time , with joy to spare . But the past is just the same – and War ’ s a bloody game … Have you forgotten yet ?… Look down , and swear by the slain of the War that you ’ ll never forget . Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz – The nights you watched and wired and dug and piled sandbags on parapets ? Do you remember the rats ; and the stench
Of corpses rotting in front of the front-line trench –
And dawn coming , dirty-white , and chill with a hopeless rain ?
Do you ever stop and ask , ‘ Is it all going to happen again ?’
Do you remember that hour of din before the attack –
And the anger , the blind compassion that seized and shook you then
As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men ?
Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back
With dying eyes and lolling heads – those ashen-grey
Masks of the lads who once were keen and kind and gay ? Have you forgotten yet ?… Look up , and swear by the green of the spring that you ’ ll never forget
50 Resident www . residentmagazine . co . uk