AS we approach the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme - one of the bloodiest battles in history - research by local historian George Cogswell has revealed the heavy toll it took on towns in what is now Trafford.

More than one million men were wounded or killed in the battle, and hundreds of these were from the Trafford area.

The Battle of the Somme began on July 1 and for five months the British and French armies engaged the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15-mile front.

There were devastating losses on the first day.

George said: "The statistics of this battle make grim reading and it is without doubt Britain’s worst military disaster of all time. On July 1, 1916 we lost 20,000 men. "Some 60,000 Allied soldiers became casualties that day either wounded, killed or missing.

"To make matters worse, many of those killed were from the famous “Pals” Battalions, meaning whole streets and work places back in England were decimated."

Following seven days of Allied shelling of the German positions, the Battle commenced with the blowing of a number of underground mines, the most famous and now preserved, being the Lochnagar Crater at La Boiselle.

George's research shows the impact it had across our borough. In total, 149 Trafford man were killed on the first day of battle.

A breakdown of the figures reveals that 54 of these came from Stretford, 46 from Altrincham, 29 from Sale and 20 from Urmston.

The death toll continued to mount over the next five months of the battle, with 600 more men from our borough losing their lives.

Altrincham lost the highest number of men, 210. Stretford lost 181, Sale 126, Urmston 78 and Partington five men.

* THE Trafford men who died on the first day of the battle included a 24-year-old war hero sergeant.
Arthur Brooke, who lived in Sale and then Altrincham, had enlisted in September 1914, just over a month after the war began.
Serving on the Western Front in France, he won a succession of medals - the 1915 Star, the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). 
The DCM was awarded for 'conspicuous gallantry on several occasions'.
Nine weeks after being awarded the DCM he was given the Bar to it after he was captured while in charge of a scouting party, but escaped from a party of Germans.
He was promoted to lance corporal in 1915 and to sergeant in 1916.
He was among the many soldiers who died in the Battle of the Somme. 
His body was never recovered, although his prayer book, with bullet holes, was later found in his kit.
It is inscribed 'To Arthur with love from Beth, 25th June 1916'. 
On the reverse of the card, Arthur had inscribed, 'To Eveline with love'. Eveline was his eldest sister.
Before the war Arthur had worked for a warehouse in Manchester and was a teacher at St Paul's Mission in Sale.

* TRAFFORD’S Local Studies Centre is marking the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, with a series of events commemorating men from the Trafford area involved in the conflict.
From July 1 to 9 there will be a public display reflecting on the experiences and sacrifices of the men.
This will be backed with the ‘Trafford Dispatch Special Somme Edition’, an ongoing display which changes every month to reflect local war news. There will also be a 77 minute black and white silent film, The Somme, available courtesy of Imperial War Museum. The film, shot between 26 June and 9 July 1916, will be shown at 2.30pm each day.
From July 4 to 8 visitors to the Local Studies Centre in Sale will also have the chance to look at a collection of original First World War archives. 
Further details on 0161 912 3013 or email trafflocals@trafford.gov.uk.

*St Paul's Church, Sale, will be remembering those lost during The Somme Campaign including the 12 men from the parish who are commemorated on the church war memorial.

These include Sergeant Arthur James Balfour Brooke.

All are welcome to attend morning worship at St Paul's Church, Springfield Road, Sale on July 3 2016 at 10am.