The first day of July is a date that the people of Great Britain have etched permanently in their collective psyche. One hundred years ago today was the bloodiest day in British military history. Twenty thousand young British soldiers lost their lives on this day. Nineteen thousand perished within the first hour. It has been said that the German machine gunners were vomiting at the carnage they were inflicting on these poor young British soldiers.

Last night, Rick and I went on a special London Walk designed to tell the story through the memorials located around London. It was a solemn evening. Here are a few of the memorials we passed by on our walk.

There were about two dozen people on our walk. There were Brits, Americans, Canadians, Australians, and a German lady. The walk ended at Westminister Abbey where an overnight vigil was being held at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

To end on an upbeat note, I have to report that we saw Queen Elizabeth on her way home from the ceremony at Westminister. She was being driven back to Buckingham Palace. Pretty cool!