* 1916 – Start of the Battle of Delville Wood as an action within the Battle of the Somme, which was to last until 3 September 1916.

The line from Fricourt to Mametz Wood and on to Delville Wood near Longueval was overrun in due course, however the line beyond was more difficult to navigate because of dense forests.

The objectives were the villages of Bazentin le Petit, Bazentin le Grand and Longueval, which was adjacent to Delville Wood.

The most costly action that the South African forces on the Western Front fought in was the Battle of Delville Wood in 1916 – of the 3, 000 men from the brigade who entered the wood, only 768 emerged unscathed.

When he was 21 years old, and a private in the 1st Battalion ( Cape ) of the South African Infantry Brigade during the First World War, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 18 July 1916 at Delville Wood, France.

Adjacent to Longueval was Delville Wood.

On the right, after Delville Wood was taken, the villages of Guillemont and Ginchy had to be captured in order to bring the French forces into line.

The rapid advance of his Corps in the southern sector of the Somme offensive had brought about a situation where the allied front was set at a right angle – the left sector facing north and the right, facing east from Delville Wood.

XIII Corps succeeded in securing Delville Wood, but it was one of the bloodiest confrontations of the Somme, with both sides incurring large casualties.

Delville Wood was finally secured and the neighbouring village of Ginchy fell relatively quickly to the 16th ( Irish ) Division on 9 September.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Delville Wood, part of the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

) After fighting in the Senussi Campaign in North Africa the brigade was shipped to France, where it took part in many battles between 1916 and 1918, including the famous Battle of Delville Wood.

The most well-known action that this unit took part in was the Battle of Delville Wood in the Somme.

Baker was the architect of a number of cemeteries in France in the aftermath of the First World War, including Delville Wood Cemetery ‎ and Memorial and the nearby South African War Memorial, the London Cemetery and Extension, Adanac Military Cemetery for the Canadians, the AIF Burial Ground for the Australian Imperial Force, a memorial within the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery, Courcelette British Cemetery, Dantzig Alley British Cemetery, Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Guards Cemetery, Les Bouefs, Ovillers Military Cemetery and Quarry Cemetery.

Both husband and wife were very interested in botany and gardening: " Their mutual pleasure in their garden at Delville near Dublin in particular, his encouragement of her gardening, painting, shell-work and needlework resulted in a surge of activity in a variety of media in all of which the basic theme was the flower, whether in stocking the Delville garden, painting garden landscapes, decorating interiors with shells, or working embroideries.

Jean Delville ( 19 January 1867, Leuven – 1953 ) was a Belgian symbolist painter, writer, and occultist.

The enthusiasm for these ideas reached its peak during the 1890s, the decade when the Belgian painter and writer Jean Delville was at the height of his powers.

Delville was born in the Belgian town of Louvain in 1867.

Delville was struck by a number of Péladan ’ s ideas, among them his vision of the ideal artist as a spontaneously developed initiate, whose mission was to send light, spirituality and mysticism into the world.

Olivier adds that “ the young Mrs Merrill-Rion ” was a Belgian, and that Delville was struck by her strange beauty and depicted her with a mediumistic character.

This represents Delville ’ s idea of perfect human knowledge, achieved ( as he says in his Dialogue ), through magic, the Kabbalah and Hermeticism.

The most extensive information on her identity is given by Delville ’ s son Olivier in his biography of the painter.

Another of Delville ’ s best works, which is also on view in the Brussels Museum of Fine Arts, is Satan ’ s Treasures, first exhibited in 1895.

Delville ’ s vast undersea world, ruled by Satan, is almost certainly an image of the material abyss.

In both interpretations, Delville ’ s painting is a depiction of the soul ’ s spiritual evolution.

In Delville ’ s painting, Plato is draped, but all of his students are nude.

Delville ’ s aim was to represent the disciples as androgynous.

In Delville ’ s day, many people believed that the more spiritual human types were already beginning to return to that state.

In his biography, Delville ’ s son Olivier tells us that his father, determined to pass his ideals on to the world, was continually painting and writing.

Today Delville ’ s pictures ( especially the early ones, up to the First World War ) are once again recognised for their unusual qualities.

Delville ’ s works are also remembered at the Theosophical Society headquarters in Madras, where the Hall of Religions was decorated during the 1960s in a style which, according to Philippe Jullian, imitates that of Delville ( The Symbolists, 1973 ).

** The Great War battalions: Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 ' 18, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Ypres 1914 ' 17 ' 18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Messines 1918, Hazebrouck, Kemmel, Béthune, Scherpenberg, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Tardenois, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915-18, Egypt 1916, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell ' Asur, Megiddo, Sharon, Damascus, Palestine 1917-18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915-17

* The Great War ( 47 battalions ): Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914 ' 17, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 ' 15 ' 17 ' 18, Nonne Bosschen, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Hooge 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 ' 18, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, Arleux, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Béthune, Amiens, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Italy 1917-18, Struma, Macedonia 1915-18, Helles, Landing at Helles, Krithia, Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915-16, Egypt 1916, Megiddo, Nablus, Palestine 1918, Troitsa, Archangel 1919, Kilimanjaro, Behobeho, Nyangao, East Africa 1915-17

* Great War ( 30 Battalions ): Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 ' 18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915 ' 17 ' 18, St. Julien, Bellewaarde, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Ginchy, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 ' 18, Arras 1917 ' 18, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Béthune, Scherpenberg, Amiens, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915-18, Helles, Landing at Helles, Krithia, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Rumani, Egypt 1915-17

** The Great War battalions: Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914 ' 18, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Ypres 1914 ' 17 ' 18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Messines 1918, Hazebrouck, Kemmel, Béthune, Scherpenberg, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Tardenois, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915-18, Egypt 1916, Gaza, Jerusalem, Tell ' Asur, Megiddo, Sharon, Damascus, Palestine 1917-18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1915-17

* The Great War – Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, 18, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Messines 1914, 18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915, 17, 18, Gravenstafel, St Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916, 18, Albert 1916, 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917, 18, Scarpe 1917, 18, Arleux, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917, 18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Bethune, Soissonnais-Ourcq, Tardenois, Amiens, Hindenburg Line, Epehy, Canal du Nord, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Kortrijk, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914 – 18, Italy 1917 – 18, Struma, Doiran 1917, 18, Macedonia 1915 – 18, Gallipoli 1915 – 16, Rumani, Egypt 1916, Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jaffa, Palestine 1917 – 18.

* The Great War: Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, 18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914, 15, 17, 18, Langemarck 1914, 17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Boschen, Givenchy 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Heliewaarde, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Hooge 1915, Loos, Mount Sorrel, Somme 1916, 18, Albert 1916, 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, 18, Bapaume 1917, 18, Arras 1917, 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, 18, Arleux, Messines 1917, 18, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917, 18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Villers-Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Bethune, Drocourt Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Epehy, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Kortrijk, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Doiran 1917, 18, Macedonia 1915-18, Kut al Amara 1915, Ctesiphon, Defence of Kut al Amara, Tigris 1916, Khan Baghdadi, Mesopotamia 1914-18.

* Great War ( 31 battalions ): Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, Messines 1914, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1915 ' 17, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 ' 18, Bapaume 1917 ' 18, Arras 1917 ' 18, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St. Quentin, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Béthune, Amiens, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Épéhy, St. Quentin Canal, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Helles, Landing at Helles, Krithia, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915-16, Rumani, Egypt 1915-17, Gaza, Jaffa, Megiddo, Sharon, Palestine 1917-18

* The Great War ( 21 battalions ): Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 ' 18, Armentières 1914, Neuve Chapelle, Ypres 1915 ' 17, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Hooge 1915, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 ' 18, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Béthune, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Havrincourt, Canal du Nord, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Macedonia 1915-18

* The Great War ( 38 battalions ): Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, 18, Aisne 1914, 18, La Bassee 1914, Armentieres 1914, Ypres 1914 ' 15 ' 17 ' 18, Nonne Bosschen, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozieres, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Oppy, Messines 1917 ' 18, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosieres, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Scherpenberg, Soissonais-Ourcq, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, Courtrai, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Italy 1917-18, Struma, Doiran 1917 ' 18, Macedonia 1915-18, Suvla, Sari Bair, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Jericho, Tell ' Asur, Palestine 1917-18, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Bagdad, Mesopotamia 1916-18

* The Great War ( 18 battalions ): Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée, Messines 1914 ' 17, Ypres 1914 ' 15 ' 17 ' 18, Hill 60, Gravenstafel, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Thiepval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916 ' 18, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, Oppy, Pilckem, Langemarck 1917, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St. Quentin, Rosières, Avre, Villers Bretonneux, Lys, Hazebrouck, Kemmel, Amiens, Bapaume 1918, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St. Quentin Canal, Courtrai, Selle, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Italy 1917-18, Suvla, Landing at Suvla, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915, Rumani, Egypt 1915-16, Gaza, El Mughar, Jerusalem, Jericho, Tell ' Asur, Palestine 1917-18, Defence of Kut al Amara, Sharqat, Mesopotamia 1915-18

* The Great War ( 18 battalions ): Mons, Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914, La Bassée 1914, Ypres 1914 ' 17 ' 18, Langemarck 1914, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Flers-Courcelette, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 ' 18, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Messines 1917, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Béthune, Scherpenberg, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenberg Line, Canal du Nord, Courtrai, Selle, France and Flanders 1914-18, Doiran 1917 ' 18, Macedonia 1916-18, Helles, Gallipoli 1915-16, Rumani, Egypt 1916-17, Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Tel Asur, Palestine 1917-18

* The Great War ( 30 battalions ): Le Cateau, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 ' 18, Armentières 1914, Ypres 1914 ' 15 ' 17, Langemarck 1914 ' 17, Gheluvelt, Neuve Chapelle, St. Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Festubert 1915, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916 ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Le Transloy, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917 ' 18, Arleux, Oppy, Bullecourt, Messines 1917 ' 18, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St. Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Béthune, Drocourt Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, Beaurevoir, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915-16, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916-18, Baku, Persia 1918

* The Great War ( 25 battalions ): Mons, Retreat from Mons, Marne 1914, Aisne 1914 ' 18, Ypres 1914 ' 15 ' 17, Langemarck 1914 ' 17, Gheluvelt, Nonne Bosschen, Givenchy 1914, Gravenstafel, St Julien, Frezenberg, Bellewaarde, Aubers, Loos, Somme 1916 ' 18, Albert 1916, ' 18, Bazentin, Delville Wood, Pozières, Guillemont, Flers-Courcelette, Morval, Ancre Heights, Ancre 1916, Arras 1917 ' 18, Vimy 1917, Scarpe 1917, Messines 1917 ' 18, Pilckem, Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Cambrai 1917 ' 18, St Quentin, Bapaume 1918, Rosières, Avre, Lys, Estaires, Hazebrouck, Bailleul, Kemmel, Béthune, Drocourt-Quéant, Hindenburg Line, Épéhy, Canal du Nord, St Quentin Canal, Beaurevoir, Selle, Valenciennes, Sambre, France and Flanders 1914-18, Piave, Vittorio Veneto, Italy 1917-18, Struma, Doiran 1917, Macedonia 1915-18, Suvla, Sari Bair, Scimitar Hill, Gallipoli 1915-16, Egypt 1916, Tigris 1916, Kut al Amara 1917, Baghdad, Mesopotamia 1916-18, Persia 1918