Somme return for families of men who died together

Two men whose grandfathers fought in the Tyneside Irish and died together on the Somme have returned to visit their graves, 100 years to the day since the battle began.

Sergeant Patrick Butler was shot as he tried to save his fatally wounded commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Louis Howard, on July 1 1916.

Today, their grandsons, Patrick Butler and Malcolm Howard, together visited their graves at Ovillers Cemetery.

They were serving as part of the pals battalions - of volunteers from the same workplaces, villages and even families.

Thousands joined up from the North East - many with celtic ancestry under the Tyneside Scottish and Tyneside Irish brigades of the Northumberland Fusiliers.

They were among the first over the top on the morning the Battle of the Somme began, and suffered some of the greatest casualties - 4,500 killed from the Northumberland Fusiliers.

Lt Col Howard was commanding officer of 1st Tyneside Irish battalion. On 1 July 1916, while leading his men to attack the mine crater at Lochnagar, he was caught on German wire and severely wounded.

Sgt Butler, born in Co. Tipperary, but whose parents lived in Newcastle, saw that his commanding officer was wounded and helped free him from the trench and get into the crater at Lochnagar.

There, Sgt Butler was killed by a German sniper. Lt Col Howard died of his injuries the next day.

Their families did not know one another until two years ago, when Patrick Butler spotted an obituary of Col Howard's son, and began to piece the story back together.

They made an "emotional" return to the graves recently, and today were among a group of family and military descendants from the Northumberland Fusiliers.

Mr Butler, from Jesmond in Newcastle, described his grandfather as "a very brave man, a leader of men."

Mr Howard, from Surrey, said it was "a very special occasion - it makes it very real. They lived this very moment, and they died for us."