THE 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme will be commemorated with a special service at St Mary’s Church in Bramshott on Sunday.

Also known as the Somme Offensive, it was the largest battle of the First World War on the Western Front fought by the armies of the British and French empires against the German Empire and took place between July 1 and November 18, 1916, on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in France.

More than one million men were wounded or killed, making it one of the bloodiest battles in history.

Two years ago, Reverend Alan Geddes, who will be holding the service from 10.30am, and Colonel Jimmy Jack, of the Liphook Royal British Legion, went to visit the grave of Harry Richardson whose name appears on the Bramshott War Memorial.

Harry died at the age of 19 on September 1, 1914, from the wounds he received only a few weeks after joining up. He is buried in Baron Communal Cemetery in Oise, France, and during their visit Colonel Jack and Rev Geddes laid a wreath at his grave to remember his death 100 years earlier.

They were welcomed by the mayor of Baron to join the VIP entourage for the commemoration of the battle, which is re-enacted every year.

Alan’s father, Benjamin Geddes, fought with the Scottish Black Watch Regiment at The Battle of the Somme in 1916, when he was just 22 years old. He was wounded and sent back home but had to return to the front after he recovered. He survived the First World War and fought again during WWII.

Rev Geddes took an assembly at Liphook Junior School after their Canada Day commemorations on June 29 and spoke about the Somme and his father’s involvement, proudly wearing his seven medals.