Somme compilation. Trones Wood, Guillemont, Thiepval.

In August this year I paid another visit to the Great War Somme battlefield. I took my trusty drone to capture some footage of the various points of interest.
Now the land is part of a peaceful rural landscape with few visible scars to tell the story.
There are exceptions the most noticeable is the proliferation of Commonwealth War Grave cemetery's that mark sites of the heaviest fighting.
The Somme fighting covered five months from 1st of July to 15th of November 1916 but on this visit I concentrated on and followed the fortunes of the 16th (Irish) Div around the village of Guillemont and the 36th (Ulster) Div at Thiepval.
The video starts at Guillemont cemetery and shows the small area from Trones wood To the village, the open ground rises toward the village and can be walked at a steady pace in about 15 minutes. Trones wood fell on the 14th of July and the village (by now ground into brick dust) finally fell and was secured by the 3rd Sept.
VC's Guillemont Trones wood area.
Sgt William Boulter 6th Bn Northants Regt 14th July
CSM George Evans 18th Bn Manchester Regt 30th July
2Lt Gabriel Coury 3rd Bn South Lancs 8th Aug
Capt Noel Chavasse RAMC 9th Aug
Lt John Holland 3rd Bn Leinster Regt 3rd Sept
Sgt David Jones 12th Bn Kings Regt 3rd Sept
Pte Thomas Hughes 6th Bn Connaught Rangers 3rd Sept
Next scene is the windmill area just east of Pozieres where the Australian Divisions fought for the first time on the western front.
VC's Pozieres
Pte John Leak 9th Bn AIF 23rd July
2Lt Arthur Blackburn 10th Bn AIF 23rd July
Pte Thomas Cooke 8th Bn AIF 24/25 July
Sgt Claude Castleton Australian MGC 28/29 July
Pte Martin O'Meara 16th Bn AIF 9/12 Aug
Cpl Leo Clarke 2nd Bn CEF 9th Sept
Then I move to the area north of the village of Thiepval were the Ulster men broke into the Schwaben Redoubt, the story of which I would urge you to read. Mill Rd and Connaught cemetery's are sat in the middle of that battlefield.
Next is some footage of the Thiepval Memorial to the missing of the Somme which has the names of 72,336 servicemen or as is carved
"Here are recorded names of officers and men
of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields
July 1915-Febuary 1918 but to whom the fortune of
war denied the known and honoured burial given to
their comrades in death"
The video closes at the Ulster memorial tower, where incidentally you can grab a nice cup of char.
VC's Thiepval area.
Capt Eric Bell 9th Bn Inniskilling Fusiliers 1st July
Rfn William McFadzean 14th Bn Royal Irish Rifles 1st July
Sgt Robert Quigg 12th Bn Royal Irish Rifles 1st July
Lt Geoffrey Cather 9th Bn Royal Irish Rifles 1st/2nd July
Cpl George Sanders 1/7th Bn West Yorkshire Regt 1st July
Pte Fredrick Edwards 12th Bn Middlesex Regt 26th Sept
Pte Robert Ryder 12th Bn Middlesex Regt 26th Sept
Lt Col Tom Adlam 7th Bn Bedfordshire Regt 27th Sept
I am hoping to return to France again early next year and would love to know if anyone out there would like a visit lets get together and make a plan.
Please forgive any errors would welcome corrections and comments.
I should credit the music used
"Only remembered" by Coope Boyes and Simpson.
All the best