Painting new Somme mural was 'great honour' says artist

A new mural commemorating the opening day of the Battle of the Somme has recently been completed in the Drumtara estate at Ballee.

The gable end painting shows troops advancing with fixed bayonets towards the German lines at zero hour on July 1, 1916.

That date has been etched into local memory ever since because of the high number of dead and wounded suffered by the 36th (Ulster) Division.

The cost for the local area was very high with many of those casualties found in the ranks of the 12th Royal Irish Rifles, who were known as the Central Antrim Volunteers.

They were mostly men who had joined up in the Autumn of 1914 in response to the call from War Minister Lord KItchener that ‘your country needs you’.

They formed part of 108 Brigade within the Division and on July 1 suffered horrendous casualties as they attacked through a ravine alongside the infamous Ancre River Valley below the Thiepval Heights.

During the attack they were subjected to an intense crossfire from carefully sited German positions.

Such was the toll on the Division, it had to be withdrawn from the battle after that one day which has been ranked as ‘the bloodiest day in British military history.’

Ever since, the sacrifice of the Division has been a matter of sorrow and pride for people in Northern Ireland.

Craig Gilmore, the mural’s painter said it was ‘an honour’ to have been given the opportunity to pay such a tribute.

“We should never forget these mostly very young men who gave their lives for their country.

“I was personally humbled to be allowed to paint this mural and I would like to thank all who helped in any way to make this community memorial a reality.”