On this day, 110 years ago, the Battle of the Somme began in France, following a seven-day preliminary bombardment. On the first day of the attack, the initial “Big Push,” over 57,000 casualties were recorded. The loss was devastating:
“One bloke was climbing out, and he’d got hold of the top of the ladder and this shell must have chopped him right across the middle […] It was a shocking sight, looking at that lot…”
– 16-year-old Frank Lindley
The eponymously named conflict lasted between July and November 1916. Across those four and a half months, British armed forces suffered 420,000 casualties, the allied French forces 200,000 and the German losses were at least 450,000.
Beyond the huge loss of life, thousands of men were left with physical and mental wounds. Many of those lost were members of the Corps of Commissionaires, known as Corps Security today, an organisation created to provide meaningful employment to veterans.
Our Corps Veteran Association (CVA) has developed the first of its Commissionaire Stories books to detail the battle and explore the lives of just some of the Commissionaires who were lost on this fateful day, over a century ago.
Loyalty, Integrity and Service
On the outbreak of World War One, 2,145 men from the Corps of Commissionaires left to join the fight. Among those who fought and lost their lives at the Somme were four Commissionaires who upheld our core values: Oscar Edward Wright, Charles Pearson, Henry Preston, and William Landers.
Our research, Commissionaire Stories – The Somme, details each of these men’s lives up until their loss:
Oscar Edward Wright – Serjeant 18915
11th (Service) Battalion, Suffolk Regiment
Oscar was born in 1880, and just shy of his 18th birthday, he attested and joined the Suffolk Regiment in 1897, and fought in South Africa, before returning to the UK and joining the Army Reserve in 1906. He began work as a bank porter for the Corps of Commissionaires, fell in love and married Fanny Louise Williams in 1909, and was discharged the same year, before having his son, Edward, in 1911.
When war broke out, Oscar chose to return to his old regiment and was deployed to France in early 1916. On July 1st, he was chosen to lead his platoon over the top, bravely charging into enemy fire. According to eyewitnesses, “…he was the first man to fall.”
Charles Pearson – Company Serjeant Major S/1086
7th Battalion, Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment)
Census records show that Charles’ career started as a baker at age 14. But shortly after turning 22, he enlisted under a different name – George Button. As George, he served across England, Malta and India between 1888 and his discharge in 1909.
After converting back to his birth name, Charles joined the Corps of Commissionaires as a Commissionaire/clerk messenger, and married Emily Lilian Ball. When war came, aged 49, Charles attested again, interestingly re-enlisting as George Button. Only two months later, he signed a declaration of his true name and began serving under it.
Charles’s battalion captured their objective and occupied enemy trenches near Montauban. We do not know how Charles died, but his body was not identified or recovered. Charles was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the second-highest award for bravery in action for “other ranks”, as it was exclusively awarded to non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel.
Henry Preston – Regimental Serjeant Major 15/1071
15th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment
Before the outbreak of World War I, Henry had already fought in two colonial wars. Aged 18 in 1889, he enlisted, serving in England, the East Indies (India), Gibraltar and West Africa. He returned to England in 1896, before marrying Annie Jefferson Horsley. When she first fell pregnant, Henry re-engaged with his old battalion and was eventually stationed in South Africa, with his wife and eventually three children.
He and his family returned to England in 1904, went on to have a total of six children, and served until he retired on a pension in 1912, subsequently joining the Corps of Commissionaires, working for a range of clients in Leeds.
He rejoined the Army in 1914, stationed across the UK and Egypt before being deployed to the frontline in the Somme. Henry was one of the many losses from his regiment. One surviving member reflected, “We were two years in the making and ten minutes in the destroying.” – Private A. V. Pearson.
William Landers – Serjeant 9374
1st Battalion, King’s Own Scottish Borderers
Age 16 in 1901, William was a forge labourer in Sunderland, but joined the army in 1905, aged 20, where he travelled to Egypt and Khartoum (the capital of present-day Sudan), before going to India in 1911. He returned to England in 1913, joining the Corps of Commissionaires for a range of customers in their Newcastle depot.
William was immediately called back to the Colours when war came, and fought in the Battle of Mons in 1914, where he was wounded. He recovered and fought in the Ypres salient before being transferred to the Somme sector.
During the Big Push, William’s battalion lost more than 570 men, and he was one of them. His body was never recovered or positively identified.
Keeping their memories alive
Commissionaire Stories gives an overview of the whole of these men’s lives, from their births, families, stations before and during World War One, and work as Commissionaires. Thousands of other soldiers’ stories have never been told.
Every year on July 1st, an explosion simulates the blowing of the mine at La Boisselle, starting the service in memory of the men who fell. But remembrance services are becoming rarer. We must ensure that the memories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice are never allowed to fade away:
“And gradually the grass sprouted, the trees grew, the farmers toiled in the filthy waste, discovering as many as half a dozen corpses a day ten years later, and the birds returned, and the woods lived again, and men fished on the banks of the sleepy Somme, and lovers walked hand in hand through the orchards of Bazentin. And sometimes, quiet Englishmen would visit this balmy countryside[…] As they gaze across the now peaceful scene, only they are able to hear the screaming of shells overhead, the thunder of explosions, and the groans of the wounded; to smell the fumes and the stench and the mist; and to feel the damp and the misery in their bones.” – Brian Gardner, The Big Push, 1961
Today, our Corps Veteran Association provides an official support network for our veteran community. Every veteran colleague who joins Corps is automatically enrolled into the CVA, where they can access peer support, communication channels and community activity. Those who haven’t served in the UK or Commonwealth Armed Forces can also participate in forums and fundraising events for our military fundraising partnerships through associate membership.
Beyond our own workforce, Corps and the CVA support veterans, serving personnel, military families and cadet groups through our charity partnerships. Most recently, our team took part in the 13 Bridges Challenge for SSAFA. Donations can still be made here.
Corps Security thanks every veteran and serving member of the Armed Forces for their service. Our organisation would not be what it is today without the sacrifice of these men.
Read the full stories of Oscar, Charles, Henry, and William in Commissionaire Stories – The Somme. Find out more about the Corps Veteran Association and our military fundraising partnerships.
