90th Anniversaries of Verdun and the Somme

Commemorative Events Schedules Plus
Resources for Studying the Battles in Depth

In 2006 two of the Great Wars most memorable and tragic battles, Verdun and the Somme, will be commemorated. Bookmark this site as you one-stop center for keeping track of the many events scheduled throughout the year and for increasing your personal knowledge of the struggle and the sacrifice made by the participants.

Commemorating Verdun 2006 Calendar Contemporary View of Verdun 1-28 February At the World Peace Centre, Verdun: "American volunteer ambulance units in E. France during the Great War". Exhibition mounted by two local associations, "14/18 Meuse" and "Les Amis de l'Ambulance Américaine", which is based in Belleville, Verdun. 21 February Concert by Barbara Hendricks at Verdun Cathedral Illumination of the Douaumont Ossuary: sound and light show of the Battle of Verdun International conference at the World Peace Centre. Title: Verdun in the eyes of the world; Exhibition: 90 years of commemoration 23-24 February At the World Peace Centre, Verdun: International conference entitled "1916-2006: Verdun…In The Eyes Of The World" 28-30 March Performance of a play entitled "Cris" by Laurent Gaudé at the Verdun theatre Exhibition entitled "La Grande Guerre en relief", based on stereoscopic pictures 22 - 25 June Concert by the Ensemble Musique Oblique at the Verdun synagogue in memory of the Jewish soldiers of Verdun. Peace Day, involving 1916 young people from France and the various countries that were involved in the conflict. Concert by the Paris Choir and Orchester. Performance of "Le Feu" by Henri Barbusse. This will be a one-man show performed in various parts of the Department of the Meuse There will be a theatrical homage to the colonial troops but I have no details. Plantation of cornflowers on the Voie Sacrée. This flower is the symbol of the "poilu". "The river of light" - 700,000 candles will be floated on the River Meuse to symbolize the casualties of the battle. 25 June Wreaths laid by the President of France and the German chancellor. 24 October Verdun Cathedral: Brahms' German requiem. Exhibition relating to stained glass windows in the Department of the Meuse dealing with patriotic themes. General events Information panels and silhouettes of soldiers and trucks will be placed along the Voie Sacrée. The local newspaper at Verdun, "l'Est Republicain", also reports that access to the main sites on the battlefield will be free and even that hotels will offer a third night free to their clients. Before June 2006, a memorial will be built at Verdun to commemorate the Muslims who died for France during the Great War. A small memorial already exists close to the Ossuary, together with a marble plaque in the name of the Muslim Institute of Paris. The new memorial will cover approximately 100 sq. meters and will include a peristyle and a dome. President Jaques Chirac of France will be present for the inauguration in June 2006.

Commemorating the Somme 2006 Calendar Frieze at Delville Wood Museum 21 April - 3 Dec. Exhibition 'Somme 1916, Espace Mondial'At the Great War Museum in Péronne. 29 April Australian commemoration at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux (in the morning). 28 May, 1500 hrs Memorial Day - American Cemetery - Bony (Aisne) 11 June French Commemoration at Serre-Hébuterne chapel. 1 July - Multiple Events Each year since then, French, British, Irish and Newfoundlanders have commemorated this event. Ceremonies start at 7.30am at the La Boisselle mine crater, accompanied by bagpipes and cannon salutes. This very moving commemoration is organised by Richard Dunning, owner of the Lochnagar Crater. Then there are three other ceremonies in succession at the Franco-British memorial in Thiepval at 11am, at the Ulster Tower at 3pm and at the Newfoundland memorial in Beaumont-Hamel at 4pm. Last Post for the Pals. The Great War Reenactment Society will be commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme by undertaking a series of events representing the Pals battalions of the 31st Division. The highlight will be a moving ceremony at Serre Road No.1 cemetery on the evening of the 1st July (ca. 8pm). Somme Trench 18 July South African Commemoration at Delville Wood, Longueval. 10 September French Remembrance Ceremony at Rancourt. 4 November Canadian Commemoration at Newfoundland Memorial, Beaumont-Hamel. 11 November - Armistice Day Public holiday throughout France. Most communities hold official commemorative ceremonies focussed on their war memorial, usually involving veterans' associations ; these are naturally particularly impressive in the Battlefields areas.

Learning About Verdun   Verdun: Greatest Battle Ever   Animated Map of Verdun   The Battle of Verdun as Seen in Contemporary Magazines   Virtual Verdun - Color Photos   Verdun's Voie Sacree   The Bayonet Trench   Verdun Memorial at Fleury   Memorial Verdun   The Lafayette Escadrille Over Verdun   Explosion at Ft. Douaumont   Forts at Verdun   Driant: First Hero of Verdun   Petain Ft. Douaumont Perimeter Today

Learning About the Somme  Tragedy at the Somme  Battlefields of the Somme  Tom Morgan's Somme Battlefield Guide  Phillip Gibb's Description of the First Day on the Somme  The German Side During the Battle of the Somme  Lloyd George on the Battle of the Somme  The BBC Looks Back on the Somme  Official & Personal Accounts of the Somme  Bob Denison Gives a 360° Look at the Somme Battlefield from Atop the Thiepval Memorial  Author Martin Middlebrook on the Thiepval Memorial  A Then and Now Tour of the Somme Battlefields of 1916 & 18: A WFA-USA Slide Show  South African War Museum  Somme Museums [9]  Beaumont- Hamel / Newfoundland Memorial Page  Commonwealth Nations at the Somme in World War I  Somme Heritage Homepage  Somme Battlefield Maps  July 1st Maps  Sassoon on the Somme  Accrington Pals

Thanks to Christina Holstein and Len Shurtleff for most of the material here.

Created December 2005

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