Now isolated, Britain joins France at WWI centenary event

The two clubs joined forces in the French town of Cambrai – itself the scene of a battle during the First World War – for a fixture arranged through the Bundeswehr (German Army), Volksbund für Kriegsgräberfürsorge (German War Cemetery Society) and the Premier League.

Jeremy Deller’s We’re Here Because We’re Here saw the artist work closely with the National Theatre alongside 27 organisations across the United Kingdom, including Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Lyric Theatre Belfast, Manchester Royal Exchange, National Theatre of Scotland, National Theatre Wales, Northern Stage, Playhouse Derry-Londonderry, Salisbury Playhouse, Sheffield Theatres and Theatre Royal Plymouth.

At 8.28am Central European Time, thousands of people across Europe fell silent to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of the Somme.

Performers wearing First World War uniforms took to the streets around the country as part of commemorations to mark 100 years since the Battle of the Somme.

Fighting at the Battle of the Somme began on July 1, 1916 and lasted four-and-a-half months. 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.

The project was commissioned by the United Kingdom arts programme for the First World War 14-18 NOW, who were also behind the Tower of London poppy memorial.

The project did more than echo history – it made the battle relevant to present day.

Dressed in historically accurate uniforms, they handed out cards to members of the public with the name and regiment of the soldier they represented.

The guns fell silent when the hands of Big Ben reached 7.28, signalling the beginning of a two minute silence across the United Kingdom in memory of all those who fell in one of the longest battles of the First World War.

Lawyers, doctors, sheep farmers and people of other professions made up the corps of volunteers, said the theater website.

Some 19,240 British men lost their lives on the first day of Somme.