大象传媒

The Battle of the Somme was, and remains, the worst day in British military history.

Kit which would have been carried by a Gordon Highlander, on July 1st 1916. (courtesy of the Gordon Highlanders museum)

Yet the generals who launched the troops were confident that the strong German defensive system had been severely weakened.

Our day of special coverage begins at 06:28 with a specially commissioned poem from Angus Peter Campbell – Dawn, 1st July 1916, The Somme.

At 07:28 we mark the two minute silence followed by the blast of the whistle that launched the men over the top.

At a quarter to eight, and at a quarter to each hour, 大象传媒 Radio Scotland tracks the fortunes of the Scottish troops on that first day of the battle.