Remembering the Battle of the Somme | Sir John Monash Centre

The 1 July 2023 marked the 107^th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. As every year, hundreds of people turned out to attend the commemorations that are held at key memorial sites in the region of Albert.

To mark the beginning of the Battle of the Somme, a service at Lochnagar Crater was held at 7.28am. ©SJMC

A ceremony was held at the Contalmaison Cairn, erected in tribute to the 16th Battalion of the Royal Scots, also know as McCrae’s Battalion. ©Léa Manot - Somme Tourisme

At 10.30am, a remembrance service was held at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, organised by the Royal British Legion. ©Lucie Balin - CWGC

The commemorations resumed in the afternoon at the Ulster Memorial Tower in Thiepval. ©Léa Manot - Somme Tourisme

The service at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial paid tribute to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, which was almost wiped out in the early stages of the Battle of the Somme. ©SJMC

The day ended with a parade through the town of Albert, one of the major theatres of the Battle of the Somme. ©Office du tourisme du Pays du Coquelicot

The Australian Imperial Force fought in the Battle of the Somme at Pozières, from 23 July 1916. Official historian Charles Bean wrote that Pozières was more deeply sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth, with almost 23,000 Australian casualties, including 6,900 killed, in almost six weeks of fighting.

The Battle of the Somme remains one of the most violent battles in history with 58,000 Commonwealth soldiers put out of action on its first day alone. After 5 months of intense combat, the battle incurred almost a million victims, including more than 400,000 dead and missing, all sides included.