Description
(British Army) First Day of the Somme 1 July 1916 – Victory medal.
Named to Private Harold O. Fleming, service number 8564, 1st Bn., Somerset Light Infantry.
Private Harold O. Fleming was wounded at the first day of the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916. Fleming died 08 August 1916.
Fleming is buried at the Essex Farm Cemetery at section III. B. 20.
-> https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/159316/h-o-fleming/
The Victory medal is engraved with Flemings name and service number on the rim.
The medal comes with several pages of research.
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Background:
The First Day of the Battle of the Somme was to be the first mass offensive mounted by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the first battle to involve a large number of New Army divisions, many composed of Pals battalions that had formed after Kitchener’s call for volunteers in August 1914. In total this day 57,470 casualties suffered by the British, including 19,240 killed, which were the worst in the history of the British Army.
More background:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_day_on_the_Somme
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Somme
