Today is the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme. At 7.28 this morning the nation fell silent, commemorating the moment on July 1 1916 when British and Commonwealth soldiers were ordered to go over the top. It was the start of the bloodiest day in British military history and the beginning of a campaign that would claim one million casualties over four months. As I observed the ...keep reading
Today is Remembrance Sunday and people across the country are honouring members of the armed forces killed in conflict. One hundred years after the First World War, 70 years after D-Day and weeks after British troops left Afghanistan, ceremonies are being held everywhere – from the Cenotaph in Whitehall to tiny village churches. As I observed the two-minute silence at 11am I was thinking about one of the most affecting trips ...keep reading