Manchester, UK A wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph in Manchester to mark the centenary of the first world war’s Battle of Manchester Hill which took place just outside Saint-Quentin in northern France on the first day of then German spring offensive. It became the second worst day in British military history with 8,000 men killed including most of the 16th Battalion of the Manchester Regiment as they sought to defend Manchester Hill

Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian