Yapton & Ford Local History Group

Somme Centenary

Battle of the Somme Centenary

Exhibition & Film Show (2016)

The 1^st of July this year was the Centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme, the bloodiest battle in the history of Britain where there were over 57,000 casualties on the first day.

In remembrance of this event the Yapton & Ford Local History Group are staging an exhibition in the Yapton & Ford Village Hall on Saturday August 6^th 2016. The ‘Somme100Film’ organisation in association with the Imperial War Museum, are releasing to the History Group a re-vamped version of the original film of the battle which was filmed and released in 1916 and was seen by 20,000,000 people in the UK, the most watched UK film ever.

The film has a brand new musical soundtrack especially composed by Laura Rossi. This will be shown in the small hall of the village hall. In the main hall we are extremely fortunate to have Local & Military Historian Philip Robinson, ex Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chichester to give two talks on the history of the Battle. There will be various displays of photos and documents along with examples of medals and authentic items of hardware from the conflict. Also on display will be an authentic Model-T Ford car, renovated and converted to a gun-carrier as used in the Great War.

Running time of the film is 74 minutes with a short introduction at the beginning. Each of Phillip Robinson’s talks will be approximately 20 to 30 minutes long.

12.00     Doors open

1.15       1^st talk by Local & Military Historian Philip Robinson (ex Vice-Chancellor, University of Chichester)

2.00       1^st screening of the film ‘Battle of the Somme’

3.45       2^nd talk by Local & Military Historian Philip Robinson (ex Vice-Chancellor, University of Chichester)

4.30       2^nd screening of the film ‘Battle of the Somme’

6.30       Doors close

The above times are approximate and are correct at time of going to press but are subject to change. Please refer to advertisements and web-site for confirmation prior to event.

Refreshments will be available in the Main Hall between 3 and 5.30pm.

Entrance to the exhibition and talks are free but tickets for the film will cost £1.00 each. The number of seats available for each screening of the film is very limited so it is advisable to book early.