Rain fell on a small group of representatives naval representatives and Falmouth Town Council members who gathered at Falmouth Cemetery this morning to remember those killed at the Battle of the Somme.

The deputy mayor, Trish Minson, led the remembrance of the more than a million men from all sides who died or were wounded during the battle, which began on the morning of July 1, 1916.

She called spoke of "one of the bloodiest" battles of World War One, "141 days of horror," which saw 57,470 British casualties and 19,240 British dead on the first day, "making it the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army."

Mrs Minson said: "For five months the British and French armies fought the Germans in a brutal battle of attrition on a 15 mile front. In total, there were over one million dead and wounded on all sides.

"In November 1916 citizens across the British Isles banded together to build war shrines to honour fallen soldiers and they appeared on street corners up and down the country. These shrines consisted of simple, hand-made, wooden tablets inscribed with the names of the fallen and decorated with crosses. This saw the beginning of the collective commemoration which swept the nation in the aftermath of World War One and that is why we have gathered here today."

Mrs Minson then read the exhortation, then she and Ian Hewson, of the Royal Navy Association laid wreaths on on the war memorial.

The mayor of Falmouth, Grenville Chappell, was at a larger remembrance ceremony this morning at Bodmin.

Do you have a family member who survived or fell at the Somme? We want to hear their story and publish it on line and in the paper. If you have any pictures we would love to see them. Message us through Packet Newspaper's Facebook page or email them to paul.armstrong@packetseries.co.uk