2016
July Document of the Month
Wills of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, began on 1 July 1916. The aim of the offensive was to drain the German forces of reserves and take German held territory. The battle took place along a 30 kilometre front, from north of the Somme river between Arras and Albert. On 24 June, the British and French forces began an artillery bombardment of the German trenches. The aim of the bombardment was to destroy German defences that would allow the British troops to advance across No Man’s Land. However, the bombardment failed to destroy the German defences. On the morning of 1 July at 7.30am when the British troops tried to walk across No Man’s Land, the German artillery were ready and many men were killed or wounded as they left their trenches.
On the first day of the Battle, there were 58,000 British casualties. Ten Irish regiments fought in the Battle of the Somme and they suffered heavy losses. The Battle of the Somme ended on 19 November 1916, by which time the British had suffered 420,000 casualties.
The National Archives holds over 9,000 wills of enlisted and non-commissioned soldiers from the thirty-two counties of Ireland who fought in the British Army in the First World War. Among these records are 346 wills for Irish soldiers who died on 1 July 1916.
Soldiers serving in the army were encouraged to make wills so that in the event of their death, it simplified the settling of their affairs. If a soldier did not make a will, or the will was lost, the War Office sometimes accepted a letter written by the soldier were he had stated who he wished to inherit any money or property he had. Letters written after a soldier’s death by comrades, family or friends testifying that he had stated in their presence who he wished to inherit his effects, were also submitted to the War Office.
Among the records chosen for this online exhibition are simple wills, letters from soldiers and letters written after a soldier’s death to the War Office. Using the 1901 and 1911 Census of Ireland, we have located the men and included a link to the records.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website includes the names of each of the deceased soldiers and records where they are buried, or commemorated on a memorial. There is a link to the CWGC website for each soldier.
The entire collection of wills has been digitised and is available free online at soldierswills.nationalarchives.ie.
For further information on how this collection was digitised please see:
For further information on how this collection was conserved please see:
