30 June 2016

Tim Koch writes:

At 11 a.m. on Henley Friday, 1 July, The Last Post will mark the start of a two-minute silence observed across the Regatta to commemorate the Battle of the Somme, which began on 1 July 1916 and lasted until 18 November 1916. During this time more than a million men on both sides were killed or injured and the first day of the Battle resulted in 57,470 British casualties.

In the Henley trophy tent, the Regatta together with the River and Rowing Museum has a display titled “Rowing Heroes at War: The Battle of the Somme”.

The display includes a ‘Role of Honour’ of oarsmen known to have been killed in the four-and-a-half months of fighting.

Britain won all four of the rowing events in the London Olympics of 1908. Six of the 14 men who won Gold rowing for their country in 1908 were killed during the 1914 – 1918 War.