A BRITISH artist is calling on people in Glasgow to visit war memorials across the city and see a project which commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

Nic Joly, who specialises in creating miniature sculptures, has launched the ‘141 Days’ project to mark the poignant anniversary.

Referencing the amount of days the battle spanned, ‘141 Days’ will see 141 golden figures holding red poppies – standing at just 50mm tall – placed on war memorials nationwide, and overseas in countries which also contributed to the war effort.

From London to Liverpool, Edinburgh to Exeter and every corner of the UK, the tiny sculptures can be found on war memorials in secret locations from 7am on July 1 – 100 years after the start of the Battle of the Somme.

Two have been placed in Glasgow as a reminder of the lives lost in this devastating battle – and Nic is urging the public to seek out their local war memorials to try and find the poignant sculptures.

He is encouraging people to share messages and pictures on social media once they are discovered.

By the end of the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 19,240 British soldiers had lost their lives and the casualty figure was an overwhelming 57,470. July 1, 1916 saw the highest number of casualties suffered by the British army in a single day and it is widely acknowledged as the worst day in British military history.

By the time the Battle of the Somme had ended, more than a million men from both sides had died or been injured.

Nic Joly, who was featured on BBC One’s The One Show on Wednesday, June 29 speaking about the ‘141 Days’ project – said: “Many of the soldiers who had signed up were everyday young men from close-knit communities across the UK who subsequently suffered horrible losses. These patriotic volunteers were sold on the romance of war, “Your Country Needs You”, and became known as the ‘Pals’ battalions.

“The ‘141 Days’ installation is about awareness, making people stop, remember, and think about what happened 100 years ago. Each one of these sculptures represents the friends, neighbours and colleagues who signed up together on the promise they would serve alongside each other.”