Description
(British Army) First Day of the Somme 1 July 1916 – WOUNDED. Brittish War Medal of Private Raymond Ketley, 877, 10th Bn., Lincolnshire Regiment.
Named to Private Raymond Ketley, service number 877.
Ketley was wounded at the first day of the battle of the Somme, and “officially” died the next day at 2 July 1916, although the casulaty form amongst his service papers records him as missing on 1 July 1916. His remains were recovered and R. Ketley was buried at Gordon Dump Cemetery in Ovillers-La Boiselle. at sector Sp. Mem. B. 25.
-> https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/191216/r-ketley/
The medal comes with several pages of research, among which a short summary of the battle..
- – –
Background:
The First Day of the Battle of the Somme was to be the first mass offensive mounted by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the first battle to involve a large number of New Army divisions, many composed of Pals battalions that had formed after Kitchener’s call for volunteers in August 1914. In total this day 57,470 casualties suffered by the British, including 19,240 killed, which were the worst in the history of the British Army.
More background:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_day_on_the_Somme
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme
