141 Days: The Battle of
the SommeMemorials
We cannot be totally sure how many officers and men of the King’s Own
Royal Lancaster Regiment died as a result of the Battle of the Somme.
Some men died of wounds, sustained in the battle, many years after they
had received them. We are able to record the names of 51 officers and
892 other ranks who are known to have died as a direct result of the
Battle of the Somme. A total of 953.
Many of the men who were killed have no known grave. They are
commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial which stands over the Somme Valley
recording the names of 72,246 fallen, 90% of which fell in the Battle of
the Somme.
The total casualties for the Battle of the Somme were 419,654 British,
204,253 French and an estimated half a million Germans who were killed
or wounded.
The Thiepval Memorial unveiled by HRH Prince of Wales on 31st July 1932.
Accession Number: KO0343/03
On the right is Corporal Benjamin Atkinson Kirkby, numbers 3582 &
201062, 1st/4th Battalion, King’s Own. The other soldier is unknown.
Benjamin enlisted into the 4th Battalion on 12th July 1915 and arrived
in France to 1st/4th Battalion on 16th January 1916. He was a farm
labourer and lived in Albert Square, Millom. He was killed in action on
8th August 1916 in the action at Guillemont during the Battle of the
Somme.
Accession Number: KO2702/01
First World War memorial scroll for Corporal Benjamin Atkinson Kirby
[spelt incorrectly] of the 1st/4th Battalion, King's Own Royal Lancaster
Regiment, who was killed in action on 8th August 1916.
Accession Number: KO2702/02
Next: The Unknown Soldier
Supported by the Sir John Fisher Foundation and the Army Museums
Ogilby Trust
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