Two retired accountants are behind a major remembrance project at Thiepval, the Somme memorial site which is the focus of commemorative events on July 1, marking 100 years since the start of the deadliest battle of World War One.

Pam and Ken Linge, from Northumberland, have spent over a decade on a project they initiated, with the aim of providing more biographical details about the men listed on the monument in order to build connections with the present generation.

The Thiepval Memorial records the names of 72,000 British and South African men who were killed in the Somme from July 1915 to 20 March 1918 and who have no known grave. It will host a special event later today, attended by over 10,000 people, including members of the Royal Family and hundreds of descendants of those who fought.

The couple’s decision to develop the Missing of the Somme Database was sparked by a visit to the memorial in 2001, when they checked the names of five men on the war memorial of their village against the names cut into the stone at Thiepval.

When they heard of plans to create a visitor centre at the site in 2003, the Linges volunteered to undertake research to create an archive of photographs and information.

‘In suggesting such a project, and volunteering to execute it, we did not underestimate the enormity of the task. Although we do not come from an academic or research background, we had spent many years researching our family trees and then, later, the men commemorated on the local war memorial. This gave us the knowledge of what information was available and where to look,’ Pam Linge explained.

In half of all cases, the official records contained only name, rank, serial number and regiment, with no additional family details. The Linges therefore appealed for help to groups and individuals who had more information and checked the Roll of Honour books which were published by a variety of organisations after the war.

Much of their information has been gleaned from local newspapers, which printed articles about men who were posted as missing or killed.

The Linges explained: ‘In order to allow ease of storage and retrieval, the collection is computer-based and is accessible using the computers located within the visitor centre. We believe that the closeness of the information about each man to the memorial which bears his name is an integral part of the project and therefore there are no plans for any wider access through the internet.’

However, the Linges have worked with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) to launch a free 'Thiepval app' designed to make it easier for visitors to locate a particular name. Pam and Ken have provided more than 900 personal stories which the CWGC says will bring visitors closer to the person behind the soldier.

The Linges said: ‘For example, one of the men featured in the CWGC app is Lieutenant Eric Milroy CA, 8th Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) who died at Delville Wood on 18th July 1916 aged 28 years. Eric was a Scotland Rugby Football Union international between 1910 and 1914, and was also a chartered accountant with A & J Robertson of Edinburgh.’

Pam qualified as an ACA and worked with EY in Newcastle, and says her work on the Somme missing database has drawn on those skills, explaining: ‘This is the same approach which I used when training and working as a chartered accountant – a search for the truth, evidence to substantiate your conclusions and the adoption of a more lateral approach when at first the information you seek is not obvious.’

Ken, who worked as an accountant in the electricity industry, retiring as finance director in 2010, says his training ‘provided skills in collating information and in presentation to a wider audience. The latter has proved useful in the exhibitions we have curated, the publishing of a book and, most recently, providing information for the CWGC app.’

The Linges said: ‘The intention is for the collection to grow for as long as new information becomes available.’

Their work so far means that visitors to Theipval can now access photos and details of some 12,000 men. They have also published a book featuring over 200 stories of the men who fought and died.

Among the names in their records are two accountants who died 100 years ago today, on the first day of the battle of the Somme:  lieutenant William Ellis Gomersall, Manchester Regiment, killed aged 21 years – articled to Messrs Norris, Gregory, Holmes and Hansford, Manchester; and second lieutenant William Mackenzie Campbell ACA, Royal Irish Rifles, killed aged 25 years – employed by Deloitte, Plender, Griffiths and Co., Buenos Aires.

More details of the Linges’ work, their book and the Thiepval app, here.

Also here.

More information on the book here.