On the night of 30 June 1916, the ten battalions of the Ulster Division assembled in the Thiepval Wood area in a nearby sunken road. Legend has it that as zero hour approached, Orange order members donned their sashes and as they went "over the top" advancing toward the German lines the cry was of "no surrender", the battle cry of the Derry Apprentice Boys - 1 July was also the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.
This year, in addition to the huge numbers of pilgrims who have come to France for the Battle of the Somme 90th anniversary, the ceremony at Ulster Tower was attended by His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP, Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne MP and other dignitaries.
The Tower itself is a replica of a well known Ulster landmark, Helen's Tower, which stands on the Dufferin and Ava Estate at Clandeboye, County Down. For many of the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division the distinctive sight of Helen's Tower rising above the surrounding countryside was one of their last abiding memories of home before their departure for England, and subsequently, the Western Front.
Many who have made the piligrimage to Ulster Tower today have very personal reasons for being there. One Ulsterman, and a member of the Somme Association, explained:
"It's a replica of the tower beside where we live in Dufferin. My two Grandfathers fought in the first World War and I also lost my Uncle at Passchendale. My wife's father was a prisoner of war in the Second World War and was captured by the Italians so it really means a lot to be here to remember them all. It's very emotional."
The Ulster Tower was erected in 1921 close to the site of one of the 36th (Ulster) Division's initial objectives on 1 July 1916, the Schwaben Redoubt - considered the most heavily fortified part of the entire German line. The 36th (Ulster) Division was the only division in the British Army's 10th Corps to reach all of its objectives on 1 July 1916, including the village of Grandcourt beyond the German third line of defence.
Of the 5,500 casualties suffered in this feat of arms, nearly half were killed. As a proportion of Ulster's population, these fatalities are the equivalent to over 100,000 of today's UK population.
On the lives lost both on 1 July 1916, and throughout World War I, Revernd Dr David Clarke, who conducted the service of rememberance, said:
"The divisions advance which gave several hundred yards of enemy territory was made at immense cost, with 5,766 casualties and counting over 2,000 dead. It proved to be the worst ever day of British military history with over 20,000 British dead. Such figures, staggering as they are, are only a small part of the overall cost of that four year conflict.
"It has been calculated that the first world war alone destroyed the labour equivalent of two million men working 40 hours per week for 2,000 years. It blew up the wealth equivalent of 3,000 pounds per hour for every hour since Christ was born.
"It robbed mankind of nine million soldiers. It left 50 million crippled and maimed. It made 40 million widows or orphans. If that great group were to march past ten abreast we would be watching them not for one hour or one day but for two whole years."
At the entrance to the Ulster Tower is a plaque which commemorates the nine members of the Ulster Division who were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during the Battle of the Somme.
The nine are:
Captain E M F Bell VC, 9th Battalion The Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers
Second Lieutenant J S Emerson VC, 9th Battalion The Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers
Lance Corporal E Seaman VC, 2nd Battalion The Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers
Fusilier M Harvey VC, 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers
Second Lieutenant E De Wind VC 15th Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles
Rifleman W F McFazdean VC, 14th Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles
Rifleman R Quigg VC, 12th Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles
Lieutenant G St G S Cather 9th Battalion The Royal Irish Rifles
Second Lieutenant C E Knox VC, Royal Engineers (attached 36th Division).
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest recognition for valour "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces of any rank in any service, and civilians under military command. It is also the highest award in the British Honours system. Only three of these nine gallant men survived the carnage of 1 July 1916 to be presented with their medals in person. The other six gave their lives and still lie out on the Somme battlefield.
