Battle of the Somme: London pays tribute from Waterloo to Wimbledon

Ground staff at Wimbledon were among those to fall silent
PA
John Dunne @jhdunne1 July 2016

London today paid a sombre tribute to the thousands killed at the Battle of the Somme.

Commuters halted to line Parliament Square, huddling under trees and umbrellas to stand in quiet reflection.

The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery were there, after being at Thiepval in France last night, to fire three sets of guns, drawn into place by horses, every four seconds for 100 seconds to mark the silence.

Whistles were blown and Big Ben chimed when the two-minute silence was over, though many still continued to stand in silent prayer.

Men in WWI uniforms at Waterloo today

It was just one of the ceremonies being held across the country today.

At Wimbledon ground staff stood for the two-minute silence, while at London rail stations young actors dressed in First World War uniforms commemorated the centenary. They handed out cards to commuters bearing the names of some of the fallen.

Traveller Anthony Lea tweeted: “Poignant to see some of the ‘ghosts’ who died at the Somme at Waterloo today,” while Christian Guy added: “A shiver down the spine leaving Waterloo this morning. It could have been anyone #wewillremember them.”

Last night the Queen had led a vigil at Westminster Abbey, with prayers said for the First World War dead and hymns sung by the congregation, who included descendants of men who fought at the Somme.

The Queen symbolically touched a wreath that was placed at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

During the service the Last Post was played with a bugle that had been used at the 1916 battle.

Lance Sergeant Stuart Laing, 39, from the Welsh Guards, sounded it from the Lantern Tower — the first time music had been performed from the eaves of the abbey.

The Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Dr Richard Chartres, told the congregation that the Somme’s legacy should be that today’s children never endure what those soldiers faced.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in