The Battle of the Somme

This morning we remembered students and staff from the esteemed institution who died at the Battle of the Somme 100 years ago today.  We gathered in the Chapel at 7.20.  The Clerk of Senate lead the tribute. At 7.28 the soldiers who had joined us blew the whistles, just as they did 100 years ago before the men went over the top.  We then gathered round the memorial plaques and various people read short biographies of those who died on this day. The Principal's piper (see extra) led us out to the memorial garden where the names were read again and a cross for each person was added to the garden. The small group of white crosses to the right of the picture represent those who died. Of the 755 University men and women who fell over the course of the Great War, 144 were lost during the Battle of the Somme.
Somme Observed Community Knitting (SOCK) have created a series of quilts (see extra) with each square representing a soldier who was a member of one of the three Glasgow Pals Battalions who fought in the Battle of the Somme. They can be seen surrounding the esteemed institution and in our Chapel.