Newcastle Central Mp Chi Onwurah has spoken on her return from the Somme Memorial Battlefield Tour with the Northumberland Fusiliers. 
speaking exclusively to the Chronicle newspaper Chi said "it was an incredibly moving visit"
to read the full interview go to www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/visit-somme-emphasised-importance-working-11588336

Among the many creative events and exhibitions that are taking place  to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme is the Shrouds of the Somme display in Exeter. 
19240 small hand made figures wrapped in shrouds have been created by artist Rob Heard and displayed in lines on the ground, illustrating the enormity of the horror and and loss of life that occurred in the fields on Northern France in the fateful summer and autumn months of 1916.
The display is a combination of a 3 year labour of love for Rob who commenced work in 2013.
For more information go to http://www.thesomme19240.co.uk

Commuters across the UK were stopped in their tracks as thousands of volunteers dressed in First World War uniforms took part in a unique event to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme.  Handing out cards with the names of the fallen, the 'ghost soldiers' were seen at train stations, high streets and thoroughfares
Conceived and created by artist Jeremy Deller in collaboration with Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre, We’re Here Because We’re Here saw participants appear unexpectedly in locations from Shetland to Penzance.
 
The project, commissioned by 14-18 NOW, enlisted the help of men aged between 16 and 52 from a variety of backgrounds, each a reminder of an individual soldier killed on the first day of the battle and each wearing historically accurate uniforms representing the 15 regiments which suffered losses that day.
 
The volunteers did not speak, but at points joined together in a rendition of We’re Here Because We’re Here, a song sung in the trenches during the First World War. They handed out cards to members of the public who approached them which detailed the name, regiment and age of the soldier when he died on 1 July 1916.
 
The work is partly inspired by tales of sightings during and after the First World War by people who believed they had seen a dead loved one.
 
We’re Here Because We’re Here is one of the largest arts participation projects ever staged in the UK, with hundreds of additional volunteers working behind the scenes. It involved 25 organisations and 1,500 participants who rehearsed in theatres across the country for a month in preparation for the performance.
Jeremy Deller said: "I wanted to make a contemporary memorial to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, one that moved around the UK with an unpredictability in which the participants took the work directly to the public.”
 
Uplifted from the BBC News Website

more information on the project can be found here
https://www.1418now.org.uk
​https://becausewearehere.co.uk

The Tyneside Irish Brigade Association were represented at La Boiselle by our Vice chairman Pat Butler, our Secretary Kevin Farrell, Treasurer Kate Butler and Honorary President John Sheen.
They were accompanied by local MP's Chi Onwurah (Newcastle Central) and Ian Mearns (Gateshead), members of the Northumberland Fusiliers and the Tyneside Scottish.
Our party had the honour of laying wreath on behalf of the Association in honour of the fallen, at the Northumberland Fusiliers memorial.
Meanwhile, at St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle our Chairman Bill Corcoran joined the Lord Mayor, civic dignitaries and members of the public at a ceremony of remembrance and commemoration.