PM O’Neill greets Ulster veterans of the Battle of the Somme as they arrive in Paris ahead of commemorations. The veterans include Bishop Elliott. Some 250 men would travel to Amiens for a ceremony  to mark the beginning of the Battle. 

The Battle of the Somme started on July 1, 1916 and went on until November of that year. Britain lost some 350,000 troops with 5,000 men from Irish regiments included in that total. The Ulster Volunteer Force, the 36th (Ulster) Division alone suffered 5,000 causalities with almost 2,000 deaths.