Stories from Somme projected onto Big Ben, marking 110 years since First World War battle
The images and stories of Armed Forces personnel who served during the Battle of the Somme have been projected onto Big Ben to mark Remembrance.
The four nations of the UK were represented in the illumination projected onto the Elizabeth Tower as part of commemorations to mark the 110th anniversary of one of the most harrowing yet defining moments of the First World War.
To this day, the Battle of the Somme is still one of the biggest battles in history. It began on 1 July and lasted until 18 November 1916, causing a staggering million casualties, with 60,000 killed or wounded on the first day alone.
The display, created by the Speaker's Office in collaboration with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, told the stories of four men and one woman, including where they came from, where they served, and where they died or are commemorated.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said: "It is so important that we remember those who served, and the "Pals' Battalions" of friends and neighbours who were wiped out in this massive offensive during the First World War.
"We cannot imagine the grief and suffering that was experienced by local communities, including in my own, to lose so many men in one battle."
Claire Horton CBE, director general, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, said: "This Remembrance Sunday, 110 years after the Battle of the Somme, five of those individual stories will illuminate one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world.
"It is a profoundly moving way to bring their names and their stories into the heart of our national act of remembrance, and to remind us that behind every name we care for was a life that mattered and still matters."
The stories that featured in the projection onto Big Ben
Lieutenant Vere Harmsworth
Lt Harmsworth was killed when he was just 21 during the final stages of the Somme offensive in the Battle of the Ancre.
He was educated at the Royal Navy College on the Isle of Wight and served at Gallipoli prior to being shifted to France two years into the war.
Lt Harmsworth allegedly fought on despite being injured twice. He was later killed by a shell.
Eric Milroy
The former Scotland rugby captain went missing, and was thought to be killed, on 18 July 1916 in the assault on Delville Wood in the Battle of the Somme.
Milroy, who was born in Edinburgh, started serving in September 1914 and served in the Black Watch.
His mother left a light on in her front room of their family home in the hopes that he would come home.
Barbara Esmée St. John
Barbara Esmée St.John volunteered with the Red Cross in the First World War, helping in hospitals in Sussex and Southsea.
After the Battle of the Somme began in July 1916, she was in charge of a 35-bed surgical ward with only a young orderly to assist her.
She caught scarlet fever and passed away due to complications on 12 October 1916. She was buried with full military honours in Wimereux Communal Cemetery.
James Samuel Davidson
A mechanical engineer, who was born in Belfast, lost his life on the first day of action in the battle on 1 July 1916.
Captain Davidson was initially commissioned into the Royal Irish Rifles but served with the Machine Gun Corps, leading the machine guns of the Ulster Division's 108th Brigade. A fellow officer said that he kept fighting with a knee wound and was killed while seeking reinforcements.
He was engaged weeks earlier to Eileen Rodgers while he was on leave.
Edward Richard "Dick" Thomas
Edward John Richard "Dick" Thomas, who worked in the police prior to serving, was a Welsh rugby international.
He was unable to leave his duty as a police officer until 16 January 1915. When he joined up, he was in the 16th Battalion Welsh Regiment and was promoted to Company Sergeant Major after finishing his military training.
The Welsh Division was deployed to the Western Front in December 1915. Thomas was killed in action on 7 July 1916 in the assault of Mametz Wood during the Battle of the Somme.
He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Moynihan.
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