Thiepval Memorial
Location
Restoration
The memorial is open again (May 2007) after essential work was carried out on the roof.
The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, off the main Bapaume to Albert road (D929) turning left and following the signs from Pozières.
It is easily visible for kilometres sitting high on the ridge to your left driving towards Bapaume.
Each year a major ceremony is held at the memorial on 1 July.
The Register
Unlike most cemeteries with just one register, Thiepval has dozens, further highlighting the scale of numbers commemorated on its walls.
Regiments are arranged by order and the Piers and faces are clearly marked at their bases.
It is generally easier to use the register to find who you are looking for and then search for the pillar.
In some instances where a casualty is recorded as attached to another Regiment, his name may alternatively appear within their Regimental Panels.
In this case refer to the Memorial Register Introduction to look up possible alternative panel numbers.
Historical Information
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.
The Memorial from the Anglo French Cemetery
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.
The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 31 July 1932.
The monument is 44.2 metres high and designed as a series of arches in the general form of a pyramid. It is built of brick and whilst many visitors find the symmetry and design a marvellously cathedral like experience, I would have to admit that whilst impressive I am not certain that I like it.
What I do find incredible is the effect of walking from the car park towards the monument.
It is far larger than you think and what starts as white bands around the base of each arch slowly become blurred bands. The closer you get the more you realise that these blurred bands contain thousands of names.
More than 72,000 names are inscribed on the Portland stone panels that surround the base. It is reckoned that 90% of these are from the First Battle of the Somme.
Amongst the names are three winners of the Victoria Cross from the 36th (Ulster) Division.
Three VC Winners
From time to time you will also notice that a name has been removed:
This is where the body of one of the missing has been identified and given a named grave.
In winter it can be bitterly cold
British Empire and France
French and British Graves
The structure has a twin purpose. Not only is it a memorial to the missing, it also serves as a monument to all those who fought in the First Battle of the Somme from both the British and French armies.
There can be a tendency to forget that the French were responsible for the southern end of the front during the battle and assisted on a number of occasions with artillery for their neighbouring British Divisions.
Behind the memorial you will find a combined cemetery containing the graves of 600 soldiers - 300 British and 300 French.
Of the 300 Commonwealth burials in the cemetery, 239 are unidentified. The bodies were found in December 1931 and January-March 1932, some as far north as Loos and as far south as Le Quesnel, but the majority came from the Somme battlefields of July-November 1916. Of the 300 French dead, 253 are unidentified.
Their Name Liveth For Evermore
I would also remind you that these are men from British and South African Units. There are memorials to the missing of other Empire troops in other locations.
Other Memorials to the Missing
September 2004 saw the opening of the new Visitor Centre at Thiepval
Thiepval Visitor Centre