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The '''Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme''' is a war memorial in the care of the {{gw|Commonwealth War Graves Commission}}, located a short distance south of the village of [[Thiepval]], in the Somme region of northern France. It is accessible via Rue de L'Ancre just off the D151, near the crossroad with the D73 that runs through the village. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, bears the names of more than 72,332 officers and men of the British and South African forces who died in the Battles of the Somme between July 1915 and March 1918, and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. |
The '''Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme''' is a war memorial in the care of the {{gw|Commonwealth War Graves Commission}}, located a short distance south of the village of [[Thiepval]], in the Somme region of northern France. It is accessible via Rue de L'Ancre just off the D151, near the crossroad with the D73 that runs through the village. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, bears the names of more than 72,332 officers and men of the British and South African forces who died in the Battles of the Somme between July 1915 and March 1918, and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. |
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Revision as of 01:48, 1 July 2024
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, located a short distance south of the village of Thiepval, in the Somme region of northern France. It is accessible via Rue de L'Ancre just off the D151, near the crossroad with the D73 that runs through the village. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, bears the names of more than 72,332 officers and men of the British and South African forces who died in the Battles of the Somme between July 1915 and March 1918, and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.
To the west of the memorial lies an Anglo-French cemetery of 300 Commonwealth and 300 French graves, including the Battle Memorial, in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive. To the north through the Thiepval Memorial Park lies the British 18th Division Memorial, a stone obelisk with bronze plaques on each side commemorating the officers, non-commissioned officers and men from this division. The dead of other Commonwealth countries, who died on the Somme and have no known graves, are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere.
The memorial was built between 1928 and 1932, and unveiled by the Prince of Wales on 1 August 1932 in the presence of Albert Lebrun, the President of France, and Lutyens himself. It is the largest Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing in the world. There are sixteen brick/stone arches containing the 'piers and faces' inscribed in upper-case with the names of the Missing of the Somme. Included also are sixteen stone laurel wreaths naming the sub-battles that became the Battles of the Somme. These include: Ancre Heights, Ancre, Albert, High Wood, Delville Wood, Morval, Flers–Courcelette, Pozières Wood, Bazentin Ridge, Thiepval Ridge, Transloy Ridges, Ginchy, Guillemont, Bapaume, and Miraumont. There is also a wreath inscribed simply Somme 1916.
Background
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission states:
On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, thirteen divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July. Attacks north and east continued throughout October and into November in increasingly difficult weather conditions. The Battle of the Somme finally ended on 18 November with the onset of winter.
In the spring of 1917, the German forces fell back to their newly prepared defences, the Hindenburg Line, and there were no further significant engagements in the Somme sector until the Germans mounted their major offensive in March 1918.
Each year a major ceremony is held at the memorial on 1 July to mark the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Visiting
As with other large memorials with thousands of inscriptions, the Commission do advise that visitors to the site locate the memorial panel number (also known as Pier and Face) before travelling. The panel number can be found in the casualty records by following the link above to the Commission's website. The panel numbers shown in each entry relate to the panels dedicated to the Regiment the soldier served with. In some instances a soldier may have been attached to another regiment at the time he was killed. Where this is the case the casualty is recorded as attached to another Regiment, and his name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panels instead. Please refer to the on-site Memorial Register Introduction to determine the alternative panel numbers if you do not find the name within the quoted Panels.
Visitors should be aware that the location and design of this site makes access for people with limited mobility difficult, and people using wheelchairs or mobility scooters may require some help to reach the memorial and the cemetery.