DARTMOUTH Museum has a Battle of the Somme exhibition highlighting a number of themes and the soldiers who fought in the bloody conflict.

Volunteer Brian Parker said displays covered the opening of the battle, its military significance in the short and long term, and, above all, the casualties.

‘The battle began at 7.28am, when the great mines were exploded under German forward positions,’ he said.

‘An example of the existing Lochnagar crater is illustrated, together with a trench map and current aerial photograph.

‘Perhaps surprisingly, some of the trench lines can still be traced across ploughed land where the underlying chalk was brought to the surface. The main attack commenced at 7.30am and we know only too well the terrible outcome.

‘Despite seven days of bombardment, neither the German defenders nor the wire had been eradicated and wave after wave of the Allied attackers were cut down by machine gun fire.

‘The battle lasted for some months and at its end the amount of land gained was very little, about the same as that between the roads Dartmouth-Halwell-Kingsbridge and Start Bay, but the foundations had been laid for eventual victory. In this, the Somme and the Battle of Jutland were similar, both “defeats” but turning points in the war.’

The main theme of the display is the war poetry. Many extracts are given, some familiar but most from less quoted poets.

These are harrowing and readers will find them moving; from the soldier and his girl saying goodbye, to the night patrol’s crawl across terrain strewn with the dead, and the ambulance carts bring back the red and white harvest from the fields.

A more uplifting reference is made to Dartmouth local hero, Private Theodore Veale VC.

Instead of the more usual citation, his letter home to his mother provides a more personal insight.

Mr Parker said: ‘His courage was truly outstanding. In rescuing a wounded officer, he went out into no man’s land and was shot at no less than six times.

‘His survival was a miracle – fortune indeed can favour the brave.’