Remembrance Day, also known as Armistice Day, takes place every year on the 11th hour of the 11th of November to remember the people who have died as a result of wars; traditionally, Remembrance Day marked the day that World War One ended and served to pay tribute to fallen soldiers, as well as this, Remembrance Sunday is observed on the second Sunday of the month (the Sunday closest to the 11th).
Most major battles in WW1 such as the Gallipoli Campaign or the Battle of Verdun are very well known and acknowledged during this time of remembrance, however the Battle of Boar’s Head was a lesser-known battle that took place on the 30th of June 1916 near the village of Richebourg l’Avoué in France, the day before the infamous Battle of the Somme, designed as a divisionary action to distract German troops and prevent them from reinforcing their lines in the Somme area.
On that day, the 12th and 13th regiment of the Royal Sussex Battalions led the attack with the 11th Battalion in reserve – around 350 men died and about 1000 more were injured, taken prisoner or reported missing; these numbers were very high, especially since the engagement was meant as a diversion, not a full-scale offensive and only lasted less than five hours in total.
This battle became known as ‘The day Sussex died’ because of the huge losses the area endured, with the deaths of so many men on the same day: friends, colleagues, siblings, local communities suffered tragic losses in so few hours, so on Remembrance Day, this battle serves as a stark reminder of the devastating impact that war can have in just a matter of hours.
