A young Scottish soldier in full battle dress, apart from his steel helmet, poses for the camera before the terrible battle of the Somme which began 100 years ago this week. From his cap and shoulder badges, he appears to be a Cameronian. Several battalions of The Cameronians, a lowlands regiment based in Hamilton, south of Glasgow, fought on the Somme. On 20 July 1916, the 5/6th battalion suffered 407 men killed or wounded – half its strength – in an attack on High Wood. On each day until the centenary on 1 July, we are publishing a “Selfie from the Somme” – an image chosen from a collection of more than 700 long-lost photographs brought to light by The Independent in recent years.
