The First Day Of the Somme

Farther back, reserve battalions were on the move, the long columns of men tramping towards the front being covered in dust from passing ambulances, supply lorries and despatch riders;  the motor cyclists shouting out their snatches of news, before disappearing on their urgent business.

Tom Brewer:

At first the rumours were good: "Gommecourt is taken" "Serre has fallen" But later the news became worse. "The K.O.S.Bs only gained a foothold" "The London Scottish were cut up at Gommecourt" "The 46th Division has been wiped out" "Two generals have committed suicide"

quoted in The First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook