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Belfast City Hall marks Somme anniversary

Michael FitzpatrickBBC News NI
BBC To the left there is a union flag. An armed forces representative dressed in a brown military uniform bowing his head. In the centre of the photo is a man with a dark suit and grey hair, who is holding a poppy wreath. In the background there are people dressed in red gowns lined up watching the ceremony. BBC
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hillary Benn joined other political representatives in laying wreaths at Belfast City Hall

A commemoration event has been held at Belfast City Hall to mark the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

The ceremony was held in the Garden of Remembrance.

It included a two minute silence and wreath laying.

Deputy Lord Mayor Hedley Abernethy led the ceremony which was also attended by the Secretary of State Hilary Benn.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme, in northern France, was the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army and one of the most infamous days of World War One.

On 1 July 1916, the British forces suffered 57,470 casualties, including 19,240 fatalities.

More than 2,000 men from the 36th Ulster Division died in the first few days of the battle which would last 141 days.

Thousands of men from what is now the Republic of Ireland also fought for the British Army, in the ranks of the 16th Irish Division, which lost about 1,200 men in a single action in September during the Somme.

There were 420,000 British casualties alone in the battle - the price paid for moving the front line just four and a half miles (7.2km).

'Emotive anniversary'

Deputy Lord Mayor Hedley Abernethy said it was important to acknowledge the sacrifice of those who died.

"This is the first time I've laid a wreath at the cenotaph and I actually felt a little bit emotional as I looked up to the cenotaph and acknowledged that sacrifice that these young men gave for me and all of us here on this island," he said.

"At that stage Northern Ireland did not exist, so this is an all island thing and even having dignitaries here from the British government, from the Irish government, makes that much more significant."

The DUP Junior Minister Joanne Bunting said it was "a highly emotive anniversary".

"It's immensely important that we as a people continue to remember, because we owe them everything, after the sacrifices that they made and their immense bravery on that fateful day," she said.