A MEMORIAL on the Somme battlefield that was put in place thanks to the efforts of Basildon's Forget Never Sacrifice and Legacy Project and the town's twinning team has inspired a moving song that has been published on the internet.

On Sunday, 4 November 2018, members of the Basildon-based Forget Never Sacrifice and Legacy Project team unveiled the 'Empty Chair' memorial at the Lochnagar Crater in France which remembers men killed from all the country's involved in the battle of the Somme.

The crater is at the epicentre of the battlefield and was created when a mine, tunneled from the British lines was exploded under the German front line.

The explosion signalled the opening attack of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. With 75% casualties, it was the scene of unprecedented carnage on the bloodiest day in British military history. The massive explosion was, up until that time, the loudest man-made sound in history and remains to this day the largest crater ever made by man in anger.

The crater is owned by Mr Richard Dunning who bought the crater in 1978 to preserve it and create a memorial which has become one of the main focal points on the Somme battlefields and has up to 250,000 visitors annually.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War in 2018 the Forget Never Sacrifice and Legacy Project, which is part of Basildon Twinning and was sponsored by the Heritage Lottery, wanted to come up with a lasting memorial that linked with Basildon's twin towns, Meaux in France and Heiligenhaus in Germany, where the idea for the Chair was conceived by head forester in Heiligenhaus, Hannes Johanssen, who carved it from a 120 year old oak tree which was knocked down during a storm in 2016.

It fell across the railway line which would have been used by the German men going off to fight in 1914.

Empty chairs are used the world over to signify the loss and pain of missed loved-ones and the one at Lochnagar has proved the inspiration for a new song written and performed by Grant Butcher.

As well as the chair that stands at Lochnagar, three others were created. One now sits at Wat Tyler Park in Basildon and the others are in the twn towns of Heiligenhaus and Meaux.

A spokesperson for the Basildon Twinning Group said: "We feel so honoured to have our memorial honoured and marked by this song.

"Basildon residents may like to see how this memorial has become so popular due to the work done by Basildon Borough Twinning members as part of the Forget Never Project along with Basildon's twin towns of Heiligenhaus, Germany and Meaux, France."