THE STORY OF THE SOMME 12 | Gommecourt - Lance Corporal Sidney Richards

Welcome to THE STORY OF THE SOMME podcast series, which tells the story of the Somme Offensive in the words of those fighting on the Western Front and their families back home. The series was commissioned by the DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT and developed in partnership with the FIRST WORLD WAR CENTENARY BATTLEFIELD TOURS PROGRAMME and CHROMERADIO. It was first released to accompany the SOMME100 VIGIL at Westminster Abbey, held through the night of 30 June/1 July 2016 to mark the centenary of the opening of the Battle of the Somme. In this podcast, LANCE CORPORAL SIDNEY RICHARDS recalls the action at Gommecourt on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Sidney Richards was born in West Bromwich in 1895. Before the War, he had worked as a glass silverer and a clerk. He joined the 137th Brigade, Machine Gun Company and took part in the artillery bombardment before the men went ‘over the top’ on 1 July 1916. His account of the action at Gommecourt that morning was published in the Trinity Church Parish Magazine. SOURCE | Andrew Thornton PRODUCTION | ChromeRadio for the DEPARTMENT FOR DIGITAL, CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT | Producer - Catriona Oliphant | Narrator - Nicholas Rowe | Reader - Simon Bendry | The Last Post played by LSgt Stuart Laing, Welsh Guards on a First World War bugle.