Private Adam Hill

Private Adam Davidson Hill, 1st/7th ( Territorial ) Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. He was killed in France on 15th September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, Thiepval, Somme, France. He fell in an attack on the German positions in “Bow Trench” and “Sunken Road”. Some of the objectives were taken but the situation was very confused and machine gun fire caused many casualties especially amongst the Officers. On the 16th September the Battalion was pulled out and returned to reserve near Mametz Wood. 3 Officers and 114 Other Ranks were killed and 7 Officers and 219 Other Ranks were wounded. The photograph shows a recently captured trench on the Somme with the chalk soil very evident. In the autumn the rain turned the ground into a glutinous quagmire making movement for men and guns very difficult. The colour photo shows the impressive Memorial raised to commemorate the 50th ( Northumbrian ) Division of which the Battalion was part until February 1918. It was erected near the village of Weiltje in the Ypres Salient where the Division had fought its first action on 26th April 1915 during the Battle of St. Julien only days after landing on the Continent.