A Hundred Years On – the Battle of the Somme

The Somme is unique in that the British and Commonwealth soldiers killed here were buried ‘where they fell’. A total of 451 cemeteries and countless memorials in the region bear witness to this fact. Some are vast, others more intimate; all touch visitors in different ways. The monolithic Thiepval Memorial staggers with its soaring columns inscribed with the names of 72,195 British and South Africans who perished in the Somme but have never been found, while Beaumont Hamel - Newfoundland with its Canadian and Scottish memorials invites you to take a contemplative stroll around a battlefield with intact trenches. Delville Wood has a memorial and museum remembering a 3000-strong South African brigade; the scarred landscape itself has been brought back to life using acorns from South Africa.

More low-key sites include a memorial to 23,000 Australians who died at Pozières – more than in any other battle in history – and Devonshire Cemetery, on the trench where 163 soldiers fell. Little visited but bearing wreaths brought by locals, Fricourt is of the few German cemeteries in the region. 

Memorials aside, compelling sights include the ‘Glory Hole’ mine tunnelling system and Lochnagar Crater, caused by one of 17 explosions designed to disorientate the Germans. But don’t overlook the outstanding museums: the Musée Somme 1916 in Albert and the Historial de la Grande Guerre in the Château de Péronne. 

Some current expositions include Face to Face : Glances at Dis(re)figurement (Gueules Cassées - a look at reconstructive surgery then and now) and the Saint Chamond Tank at the Historial de Péronne and The fate of the soldiers at the Somme 2016 Museum in Albert

Albert tourist office: 9 Rue Gambetta, 80300 Albert + 33 (0) 3 22 75 16 42 

Péronne tourist office: 16 Place André Audinot, Péronne + 33 (0) 3 22 84 42 38