The Battle of the Somme began on 1st July 1916. That day was, and still is, the worst single day in terms of British Army casualties in history with nearly 60,000 either killed, wounded or missing. The battle continued until November 1916.
War Memorials Trust developed learning resources focusing on the impact of the battle on the communities of those who fought and how this impact is now remembered. These resources can be downloaded using the links below.
Aims of these resources
These learning resources were developed to coincide with the centenary of the Battle of the Somme in 2016 but are relevant for any school looking at this devastating battle. While an overview of key facts about the battle is provided for pupils, the key aim of these resources is to focus on the impact of the battle on local communities, particularly in areas that raised Pals Battalions that ended up on the Somme, rather than rather than on different interpretations of the battle and its military achievements.
These materials may be particularly helpful for teachers planning lessons to fulfil the local history requirements of the National Curriculum.
Further information
Teachers may also find some of the resources in our 'Introduction to war memorials' section useful when planning lessons about the Somme, especially the materials on researching names on war memorials. These can be accessed from the menu on the left.
Many websites and other resources now exist which contain further detailed information about individual Pals Battalions and their recruits. You may find these useful when studying a local battalion in depth.
There are also many resources from other organisations that focus on the history of the battle and WMT’s resources may be useful in conjunction with these to form part of a wider study of events, how the battle was fought, and its impact and legacy. The websites for other organisations that may be useful can be found at www.learnaboutwarmemorials.org/links
Chorley Remembers project
The resources below that focus on the Chorley Pals have been produced with information and support from the Chorley Remembers project who were behind the creation of the Chorley Pals Memorial.
War Memorials Trust is very grateful to members of the project for the information, materials and guidance provided during the development of these resources.
