Ticket applications for admission to the Somme Centenary commemorations at Lochnagar Crater will close on February 15th 2016, organisers have announced.
Numbers for the event on July 1st have been limited to 5,000 at the request of the French authorities for crowd safety reasons.
Access to the site is also being restricted because of heightened security following November’s terrorist attacks in Paris.
There will be no admission without a ticket this year.
A remembrance service is organised annually at Lochnagar Crater by Richard Dunning, owner of the site, and volunteers from the Friends of Lochnagar.
The crater was left by one of the massive mine explosions which signalled the start of the British attack on the Somme on July 1st 1916.
Ticket applications for the 2016 ceremony must be made by post, including passport details for all those attending. Full information on the Lochnagar Crater website.
All access to Lochnagar Crater will be by shuttle bus from Albert Airport (Meaulte) or direct by authorised tour companies.
Visitors will not be allowed to make their own way to the site by vehicle or on foot this year – unless they live locally.
Lochnagar Crater, near the village of La Boisselle, is privately-owned by Richard Dunning and maintained with the support of volunteers belonging to the ‘Friends of Lochnagar’. It is dedicated to peace, fellowship and reconciliation between all nations who fought on the Western Front during the First World War.
Source: Friends of Lochnagar
Images: Centenary News
Posted by: Peter Alhadeff, Centenary News