NI supporter combines football with visits to historic WW1 cemetery sites
A Newtownabbey man has opened up on a "completely remarkable" experience visiting the battlefields and war graves of the Somme in northern France, where he uncovered fascinating stories about soldiers from the province who fought and died during one of the First World War's most significant battles.
Henry Hughes, who is a keen sports enthusiast, jumped at the chance to learn more history when initially travelling to Lille to watch Northern Ireland senior men's football team take on World Cup-bound France.
Some of the key historical sites such as the grave of Private William McBride, the Somme 1916 Museum in Albert, as well as the Ulster Tower were only an hour or so away from Henry and he made sure to learn some history as part of his trip.
The Battle of the Somme, which began on July 1, 1916, remains one of the bloodiest battles in military history. More than one million men were killed, wounded or reported missing during the five-month campaign.
“I remember coming over to France in the 80s and driving to cemeteries on the French-Belgian border and even into Belgium itself,” Henry explained.
“I wanted to explore the Northern Ireland, Linfield and Belfast connections this time around and I visited the Willie McBride grave and when the song 'The Green Fields of France' was played the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“Another notable visit was a trip to Thiepval which bears the names of more than 70,000 of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 1918 and have no known grave.
“I bumped into people from Northern Ireland who were at the Ulster Tower, including friends of current Linfield manager David Healy and his father Clifford.
“All the places I visited, no matter the size, were all steeped in history and had a story to tell.”
Henry was taken to the key sites by the deputy mayor of Bertrancourt, Celine Jasiak.
His final stop was to a memorial dedicated to the Linfield Football Club players who died in the First World War.
More than a dozen Linfield players are known to have died in World War One.
The memorial, in Bertrancourt village near the frontline of the Battle of the Somme, was unveiled following a moving ceremony back in 2022 and was funded by donations from Linfield supporters.
“I know Roy McGivern, the Linfield chairman, was involved in the memorial, as well as Linfield Academy coach Johnny Jamison and former player Lee Doherty,” he added.
“Being a Linfield and Northern Ireland fan, I wanted to visit the memorial and this was the first opportunity I had to do so.
“Celine is well-known to members of the Linfield Historical Society and I told her I was nearby, so she kindly agreed to take me around some of the sites.
“It was an amazing eight hours and my phone ran out of charge as I took that many photos.
“When I look back, these places of history were only an hour away from me and I'm so thankful I took the opportunity to do so.”