As you may know, this past week has been National Armed Forces Week. This gives us the perfect opportunity to remember all the heroic deeds our servicemen and women have done throughout our history. The past year especially saw our army mobilise in the fight to vaccinate the nation and we are forever grateful for all their hard work.
One important area of our history that is perhaps the most painful but showed true courage was the First World War and The Battle of the Somme in 1916. The Battle of the Somme lasted 5 and aimed at breaking the previous 18-month deadlock. The Battle is notorious for its huge life loss. On the first day alone, some 19,000 British soldiers were killed and 57,000 injured.
Within this battle, there was the fight for Mametz woods. The battle was fought by the British Army’s 38th Division made up of Welshmen. The battle fought on in early July, resulting in over 4,000 killed or injured. The 38th Division were outnumbered by German machine guns and unprotected by a failed smokescreen yet managed to advance and eventually capture the woods on the 12th of July 1916.
You may be wondering why we have chosen this specific battle to commemorate on this day. Well, Petersens very own Managing Director’s brother, David Petersen created the wonderful Welsh Dragon memorial statue at Mametz. This beautiful Statue shows the iconic red dragon facing Mametz wood whilst tearing at barbed wire, a true testament to the strength of the Welsh Division. The statue is handcrafted out of steel and stands tall on a 3-metre stone plinth in a powerful memory of the heroic Welsh soldiers who fought gallantly for their country. It brings us great pride to know that such a momentous moment in Welsh history is personally connected to our very own Petersens family.
