Unit 1, Lesson 2
[email protected]
www.jewsfww.london
Unit One, Lesson Two
The Battle of the Somme –
The Battle and why British Jews were involved
Resources:
Historical information
(available to download in Lesson Plans)
List of British Jews killed on 1st July,1916, the 1st day of the Battle of the Somme
(available to download in Assembly Plans)
Case studies of Marcus Segal, Isaac Rosenberg, Harold Levy, Captain Hart and Joseph
Josephs (available to download in Assembly Plans)
Images:
(Please visit our Education galleries to download high-resolution versions of these
images)
Battle of the Somme including
historical battle map
A map of Europe and the Western
Front
From the British Jewry Book of
Honour
Lesson outcomes:
Pupils will:
• Learn about the build up to the Battle of the Somme
• Learn about some of the regiments that Jewish volunteers joined
• Learn about the first day of the Battle of the Somme
• Learn about some of those who fought.
Page 1
Unit 1, Lesson 2
[email protected]
www.jewsfww.london
Enquiry questions:
• Why was a battle planned for the Somme Region in France?
• How were Jewish troops placed in British Army regiments?
• What happened on the first day of the Battle of the Somme that makes it so important?
• What are the experiences of some of those who fought in 1916?
Activities:
Stage 1
Ask pupils to describe a British soldier in 1914?
Is he Black? What religion is he? What language did he speak?
Explain that, from 1914 – 1918, over 6 million men will serve under the command of the
British Armed Forces. That includes men from all over the world that were part of the
British Empire, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and British India.
In the UK, the Armed Services included many different British people, such as those
from the Home nations and also people of many different religions.
Show the case study of Marcus Segal and Isaac Rosenberg to the pupils, ask them to
reflect on what they have read.
Stage 2
Use the map of the Western Front, the Battle map from 1916 showing the Somme (2_
map-of-the-somme-area-december-1916) and the Historical Information.
Ask the pupils to answer the following questions
• Where is the Somme area?
• Why was a decision made to fight there?
• Why was it important to fight in that area?
• What was the aim(s) of the Battle?
• What preparations were made for the Battle?
• For what reasons is the first day of the Battle remembered?
Page 2
Unit 1, Lesson 2
[email protected]
www.jewsfww.london
Stage 3
Provide the pupils with the list of Jewish men known to have been killed on the 1st July,
as listed in the British Jewry Book of Honour.
Ask them:
• What they can learn from this list?
• What does it tell them about the regiments that Jewish men served in?
Using the statistics of the first day that are provided, can the pupils hazard a guess at
how many Jewish servicemen might have been injured on that first day?
Do they know if those names are listed somewhere?
Explain that the names of men killed in action are recorded by the Commonwealth
War Graves Commission, in newspapers and, later, on War Memorials. Those that
were injured and recovered (even if they never fully recovered) are usually not listed
anywhere?
Using the information that they have of the Jewish men killed on the first day, ask the
pupils to create a table to organise their information. What headings and columns could
they include or would like to include to know more about these people e.g. age, profession
before the war?
Stage 4
Give the pupils the case studies of Harold Levy, Captain Hart and Joseph Josephs to read.
Using the information provided and in the case studies, discuss as a class what we know
about some of the men who gave their lives on the 1st July 1916.
Debate the question – ‘the information we have is enough to know what they went
through that first day of the Battle’.
Follow up activities:
What other information can you find out about the events of the 1st day of the Battle of
the Somme?
How was the Battle reported at the time?
How to develop this lesson for Key Stage 4 pupils:
Ask pupils at this level to go to the main site and find out about the regiments that the
men who were killed belonged to. What role might the different regiments play?
Find out about the ‘Pals’ battalions.
How to adapt this lesson for Key Stage 2 pupils:
Spend more time on the case studies – ask the pupils to write their own newspaper
stories about these men and about what happened on that first day.
Page 3