Sheffield Memorial Park at Serre on The Somme. WW1 Battlefield Tour
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- Опубликовано: 15 янв 2025
- Today we look at the place where 1000s of the Pals Battalion Volunteers went into action at The Somme
Vlogging Through History's Accrington Pals Video:
• The Pals Battalions - ...
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Thank you for taking me on this journey with you. What a tragic waste of men, generations wiped out in minutes.
Thank you
Great video. As an American; I am fascinated with the British PALS Battalions. I find them comparable to our own Civil War volunteer regiments as men were recruited from the same towns and served together. Such a travesty that so many towns literally lost a generation of young men in the war.
Thank you - yes I've read comparisons between the Civil War volunteers and pals battalions before
Yes the legacy of those battalions is etched into our national memory especially in the North of England. My local church has a window dedicated to our local battalion .
Sorry I should say had it was unfortunately lost when the church was closed and turned into homes. But in the early 80s I remember the stained glass window. Plus our next door neighbour had been on the somme with the Royal artillery.
It's not comparable. Britain's war college had fifty years to study the disastrous effects of that policy in the American Civil War. And I'm sure they had that policy for who know how long, before it.
My great uncle died on the 1st day July 1916 aged 35, 1st Barnsley pals. These were men of all ages that clubbed together and unfortunately died together, utterly tragic
Thank you. The Accrington pals memorial actually looks as though it is made out of Accrington bricks. They are rock hard. Many houses fit for heroes were built using those. My Grandad eventually got one.
Got to say this is one of the best videos you’ve made, mate. Really good account of the Pals at Serre.
Means a lot coming from you Paul thank you 👍
My great uncle was 1st Barnsley pals, 13th yorks and lancs regiment. I visited the site last weekend 22nd June and laid a wreath, made it all very real. I have his victory medal and letter, he died 1st July 1916 12/1763 TW Hancock
Thank you sharing that. I looked him up, I see he's one of the many, many missing on Thiepval Memorial. We Will Remember Him.
@@historyinyourhand1787 yep I visited Thiepval and wandered the cemeteries wondering if he was one of the soldiers known unto god……
@@historyinyourhand1787 and yes definitely not forgotten, I see him every morning passing his medal when I’m making a brew ;-)
Good video. I visited the Western Front in 2018. I rented a car in Brussels and spent 2 weeks driving from the English Channel to Switzerland. I visited all the major battlefields. I was at Thiepval on November 11 and was one of the only Americans i believe. I made non-WWI pit stops in the Ardennes and Waterloo. I went alone as my wife dislikes mud and anything that is interesting. Needless to say it was the greatest vacation ever for me😅
Sounds like a fantastic trip
Thank you for this. My great-uncle was one of the first intake into the Leeds Pals. By 1916 he was a sergeant, and was killed on 1July. His body was never found - his name is on the Thiepval Memorial. I have never visited the battlefield, and at my age probably never will, so your video was the next best thing.
Words are not enough Thank you guys
Really enjoyed that. Cracking video; very tastefully and respectfully done 👍
Cheers mate
Thanks Rob, sobering. God bless, Robert
I went to Serre with my Dad and uncle on the morning of 1st July 2016. Something l'll cherish.The eerie sound of the whistles blew along the front line and the knowing the hell our boys were going into brought lump to your throat. We went to Beaumont Hamel later that day as that was where my great grandad went over top on the 1st day with 2nd Battalion South Wales Boaders. The Somme is apart of my family history like many families throughout the Commonwealth Apart from my Great Grandad, an great uncle was killed in area of Highwood Aug 1916 and other great uncle who fought at the Somme from mid July to November 1916. He would be later killed in Nov at Camberi 1917.
Thank you for sharing that story
My great grandad was a spotter for 42 squadron based at st Marie capel. He flew over the somme
I just finished reading Covenant with Death yesterday. Great novel directly related to this part of the battle and PALS
That's actually one I haven't read yet
@@historyinyourhand1787
One of the five best novels about warfare - Christopher Hitchens.
Read it. You'll be better person for having done so. - Peter Hitchens.
My paternal grandfather was in a Lancastrian pals battalion. Had he not been so fortunate to have survived, I wouldn't be tapping away right now.
As a metalhead, I am biased. Sabaton's 1916 video cholks me up every time.
♠
Rob, this a great video. You really take the time to explain what is there. As an American, I would want to visit Meuse Argonne where my family members fought. WW1 fascinates me & want to learn as much as I can.
Thank you. This past Autumn was my first visit to the Meuse Argonne Battlefields. Really found it interesting
Rob, thank you. A brilliant video, and an area that I know very well. You just have to walk in the field in front of Queens to see the amount of iron fragments, brass and bullets to realise the difficulties that the Pals faced. Just 1/2 a mile away is Frankfurt trench - where there was a last stand involving the 51st Highland and 63rd Naval divisions. They were marooned in the German frontlines at the end of the Somme battle in November 1916 and survived for many days before being captured or killed despite heroic efforts to rescue them. This would be a brilliant future video. Just near to where you were is the quadrangle or ‘Heidenkopf’ was situated. It was the subject of the excellent TV show ‘Ancestors’ where the bodies of 3 soldiers were found in 2003. It was presented by the incredible Andy Robertshaw who knows this area better than anyone I know. Please keep the videos coming. They’re brilliant!
Thank you I appreciate that. Frankfurt Trench was actually on my list for this trip but I didn't make it there this time. I will soon I'm sure. Thanks for taking the time to comment with some great additional info
From Accrington,thanks for the video😢
I think I have been there 5 times. Last trip was with my son Sander. And we met the 'Mad rolling eyes Farmer'. Did you? Strange man. It is and stays a very impressive area. There is also a very small cementary outer on the right side. Left if you look at the climbing slopes. Only two rows of headstones. The idea of pals batallions was a disaster. Complete communities lost all there men. Pardon my bad Englisch.
Your English is great don't worry. I did meet the farmer actually, he was very pleasant with me but I guess everyone has a different experience
@@historyinyourhand1787 Probably depends on his mood at the moment.
Wow fantastic videos, I've ended up here from sandervk history channel so pleased I am, fascinating videos! Thanks for your efforts
Awesome, thank you!
Great video. Thank you for your full explanation of the Serre battle during the Somme offensive. 😊😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for sharing this with us
Total respect
RIP
My pleasure
Hey, Rob. How are you? Superb documentary. What I enjoy most about your tours is how you show the battlefields. I think I told you this before, but it really helps me visualize it well. It's great learning about the Pals Battalions too. I heard of them, but learned some more from this video also :).
I saw a Battle Guide video about the Battle of the Somme recently, so this is a great complement to that video.
"The men here have been told this was going to be very much a casual walk across no man's land." Yikes :(. Sad how wrong that was.
Wow. That was very powerful seeing how they didn't advance far. It's one thing to see it on a map or to read it in a book, but to see it via this video was powerful and sad.
It's also sad how many couldn't be identified - and how many are buried in the cemetery.
I'd like to visit the Sheffield Memorial Park.
Powerful memorials. I agree, the map is helpful and great.
I really like how the map labeled the different regiments.
My heart sank when I heard that most of the Accrington Pals were killed.
I need to see Chris' video.
The shell hole that you shared is huge. It amazes me to see the footage each time of the damage to the ground. I know that there was a lot of bombardment, trench digging, and attacks overall, but it's incredible to see the shell holes and other damage to the ground a little over a century later.
Great information about the cemetery shown at about the 16 minute mark. I wonder how long Cpl. A. Hart was in No Man's Land (I know, as you said, it must've been a while), This reminds me of a podcast I recently listened to that discussed the missing and how sometimes, when troops dug up trenches, they'd see bodies (especially since the front lines were fluid and how many were buried in the areas they fought in).
The casualty figures for the Accrington Pals and Bradford Pals are staggering. I can't imagine the heartbreak for the surviving troops (both the wounded and uninjured troops) and the families of the troops.
It was windy, but the sound turned out well. The audio is good.
Thanks so much for the tips and recommendations. I want to visit each of the cemeteries and battlefields. Did you drive to the cemeteries and battlefields (or take a train there)?
Sad how many were unidentified in the Ser cemeteries. Also heartbreaking how many families don't have closure.
I will add your video about Horace Iles to my Watch Later playlist. I can't imagine the impacts on the communities the troops were from.
Excellent documentary. It's one of your best ones. I appreciate the information that you share in your videos. They're great resources. Take care, Rob. Have a great week.
Thanks Alex. Glad you enjoyed this one. It's a really fascinating site to explore. I tend to drive around on my trips, it gives a lot more flexibility and the train system is very limited in a lot of these areas
Superb explanation. The best I've ever seen. Your knowledge is incredible. Thank you so much.
I appreciate it thank you
As always Rob , do you know what the headstones are placed so close together?, iv only ever seen that normally in a WW2 cemetery for those maybe killed together in a tank or plane etc....
The distance that they're apart in these cemeteries is fairly normal for the western front. I'm sure limited space played a part in that. When you see them spaced out more or in an uneven layout that normally shows it was a wartime cemetery rather than one created after the war when the battlefields were cleared
@@historyinyourhand1787 ok thanks
Good stuff, visiting soon with younger family members to see where their great great great Grand father spent his youth. In the immortal words of Ian Dury, What a waste
👍👍👍🙏🖐
when the stones are placed together like that it means it is a mass grave...
Not always it doesn't. It will sometimes mean that men are known to be buried in that cemetery but exact location not know (Gordon Cemetery is a good example of this) but the war time cemeteries often have gravestones positioned differently
22:35 If a gravemarker can only state, "A soldier of the great war," does that suggest that even the allegiance of the deceased could be identified?
Great question. In theory yes you're correct. An unknown soldier does mean completely unknown. That said for the grave to have been determined as a CWGC grave then it will be based on any possible information they have, where the casualty was found for example. Almost a 'best guess' situation.
@historyinyourhand1787 Uniform remnants would be a strong clue also, particularly if the units metal insignia were intact.
Even the politicians back then were as bad as they are today. Lies lies and more lies.
Yes,its awesome how pals came togather,,but died so quick, horrible way this war,was,,and still today its empty fields were most of this took place,,part of my earth history thats very bad,and came another one,,its will happen again