The soldiers who survived the Somme

Filming for our special series on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, I met two men who both have incredible stories about the roles their grandfathers played and just how close they came to being killed.

The first was Charlie Robeson, a successful rugby player before world war one with Kelso and Jedburgh and as a professional with Oldham. In 1916 he joined the Royal Engineers and within months found himself thrown into one of the costliest battles of all time. His grandson, Derek Robeson, has only become aware of his story in the last few years and it was a box of letters that sparked his interest, one in particular.

"When I was reading the letter two or three years ago I was aware that there were two bullet holes in the letter, which got me really intrigued," he told me. "I knew nothing about him at all but I started to research him and I got the war diaries from London and I found his name in the war diaries."

Standing in the grounds of Kelso's war memorial Derek showed me the remarkable letter, pitted with two clear bullet holes and explained how his grandfather had it on him when he was shot.

"He had the letter stuffed in his gas mask helmet, they were always put on this level on the chest. He received a graze across the chest and after that he ended up in a military hospital in Norwich."

He survived and was sent back to the battle field. He'd written the letter in 1918, but that incident lead Derek to explore more of his story and discover his involvement in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Derek has since written a book about his grandfather's experiences in the war.

The war took its toll on his health and he died before Derek was born but his letter is a reminder of just how close he come to never making it home at all.

The second grandson I met was Pete Riley. His grandfather was Corporal Robert Wilson, from the small west Cumbrian village of Holmrook, and his story is just as remarkable.

Robert and his family owned the Lutwidge Arms Hotel in the village. He signed up for the Kings Own Royal Lancaster Regiment during World War One and was badly injured during the Battle of the Somme while trying to take a prisoner back to the British lines.

"He was shot in the thigh," Pete told me. "But the prisoner that he'd taken stayed by his side and turned out to be a German doctor and he said to this guy, 'You can go. I can't take you anywhere, you're not my prisoner anymore' and this guy in English said 'I'm here to save lives not take them and he patched his wounds and literally carried him back to the British lines."

The doctor was taken prisoner and as a result of his actions Robert survived.

Pete, a musician, has been inspired to write an album based on his experiences at the Somme.

Telling me about his grandfather's role in the Battle of the Somme Pete told me: "He wouldn't want to be called a hero. The hero in this story is the German doctor that saved his life and it just shows that people can come together, even enemies can come together and help and bring a sanity to this insanity that was the first world war."