Council flags lowered for Somme centenary

Flags have been lowered to half mast over Moray Council headquarters in Elgin today to mark the centenary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The battle, which raged from July 1, 1916 for more than four months, was not only the costliest in terms of lives lost during the First World War, it was also one of the bloodiest in the history of mankind. On the first day alone, almost 20,000 British service personnel were killed. Grenville Johnston the Lord Lieutenant for Moray has been paying tribute to those who lost their lives: