The Battle of the Somme is known as one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War, beginning as an allied offensive to break trench warfare against the Germans along the western front, near the River Somme, France.
On the first day of the attack alone (1 July 1916), the British Army sustained 57,000 casualites. Many of the British troops involved were inexperienced volunteers who had only just been recruited. Several of the graves you will visit today are of those who had served and lost their lives during the first 3 bloodiest days.
The offensive itself carried on until 18th November 1916, with the Allies only advancing seven miles. The cost of life was vast with The British Empire suffering 420,000 casualties and the French 200,000. German losses were at least 450,000 killed and wounded.
This battle itself shows the incompetance of the military at the time when fighting a large-scale war, as tactics fell through. However, a more professional and effective army came afterward, helping to successfully end the great war in 1918. So whilst the loss of life was vast, we will never forget their sacrifices.
Many of the bodies of those who died in this battle were never recovered and are remembered in the Thiepval Memorial, France.
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This walk will take you around the Barnsley Cemetery. You will need to take a look at the gravestones at the provided waypoints, and make notes of some of the dates from these in order to find the final cache.
Please note all of the numbers should be readable from the path, or there is access without stepping on any of the graves themselves.
Please be respectful while visiting the graveyard, and use common sense.
The final cache isn't hidden in the graveyard itself, but is hidden close by.
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To work out the final coordinates -
N53 AB.CDE W001 FG.HIJ
Waypoint 1: George William Heptinstall
A = The date George died - July A
Waypoint 2: Norman Ball
B = Which Y and L Regt. was Norman a part of?
D = In which year did Norman die? - 191D
J = In which year was Norman born? - 188J
Waypoint 3: Reginald Dunk
C = At what age did Reginald die? - 2C
G = In which month did Reginald die? (January = 1, February = 2, Etc.)
Waypoint 4: Sidney Gill
E = In which year was Sidney (son) born? - 1E95
H = In which month did Sidney die? (January = 1, February = 2, Etc.)
Waypoint 5: Harold Allemby
F = At what age did Harold die? - F0
I = In which year did Harold die? - 191I
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For the final cache, please do not remove the nanotube from the container. You will need tweezers to extract the log.
Good luck, and happy caching! (: