Battle re-enacted at Whittington Barracks

An army museum in Staffordshire turned back the clock for a history lesson on the First World War.

The Staffordshire Regiment Museum staged a re-enactment of one of the darkest moments in the country's history at the Whittington Barracks, near Lichfield.

Through the event visitors were able to learn about the Somme offensive in France, 95 years after the battle.

Joss Musgrove-Knibb, a spokesman for the barracks, said: "I wouldn't be at all suprised if, like myself, many visitors had a grandad or great-grandad who was directly involved."

On the first day of the battle there were almost 60,000 casualties. The offensive's objective was to push the German army out of France.

Part of the plan included a diversionary attack to the north of the main Somme battlefield at Gommecourt. The village was heavily fortified.

Around 700 from the South Staffs Regiment, and 700 from the North Staffs Regiment, were dug into the trenches hoping to draw in Germans. The regiment lost over 500 men and failed to capture Gommecourt.