Cemeteries on the Somme Battlefields, France

For much of the First World War, Abbeville was headquarters of the Commonwealth lines of communication and No.3 BRCS, No.5 and No.2 Stationary Hospitals were stationed there variously from October 1914 to January 1920. The communal cemetery was used for burials from November 1914 to September 1916, the earliest being made among the French military graves. The extension was begun in September 1916.

The VIII Corps Collection Station was placed at Acheux in readiness for the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the graves of July, August and September 1916, in Row A and part of Row B, are the earliest in the cemetery. A few graves in Row B mark the period of eighteen months during which the field ambulances had moved eastwards and the cemetery was little used. The remaining graves cover the period April to August 1918, when the German offensives brought the Allied front line within 8 kilometres of Acheux. There are now 180 First World War burials in the cemetery. The cemetery was designed by N A Rew.

The cemetery was started in the autumn of 1914. Burials continued here until March 1917 when the German forces withdrew from this area, but began again from March until August 1918 when the German Army retook the territory. After the war, in 1924, the French authorities brought the remains of over 300 German servicemen to this cemetery from graves and small burial plots in the surrounding area. Most of the casualties buried in the cemetery were killed during the Battle of the Somme from 1^st July 1916.

There are 3,175 French soldiers buried or commemorated in the cemetery. There are also the graves of one Commonwealth casualty, that of a Chinese Labour Corps man, Wing Yuk Shan. He died on 5^th December 1918.

The cemetery contains the graves of 2,739 French soldiers. There are 10 Belgian graves, 12 British graves and one Russian grave The cemetery also contains a monument to the dead of 1914-1918. The cemetery was started during the First World War.

The cemetery contains the graves of 1,347 French soldiers and 25 Belgian graves. The cemetery was started during the First World War.

Ancre British Cemetery is about 2 kilometres south of the village of Beaumont-Hamel, on the D50 between Albert and Achiet le Grand.

The village of Beaumont-Hamel was attacked on 1 July 1916 by the 29th Division, with the 4th on its left and the 36th (Ulster) on its right, but without success. On 3 September a further attack was delivered between Hamel and Beaumont-Hamel and on 13 and 14 November, the 51st (Highland), 63rd (Royal Naval), 39th and 19th (Western) Divisions finally succeeded in capturing Beaumont-Hamel, Beaucourt-sur-Ancre and St. Pierre-Divion. Following the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line in the spring of 1917, V Corps cleared this battlefield and created a number of cemeteries, of which Ancre British Cemetery (then called Ancre River No 1 British Cemetery, V Corps Cemetery No. 26) was one.

The original burials were almost all of the 63rd and 36th Divisions, but after the Armistice the cemetery was greatly enlarged when many more graves from the same battlefields and from smaller burial grounds in the area were brought into it. The majority of those buried in the cemetery died on 1 July, 3 September or 13 November 1916. There are now 2,540 Commonwealth casualties of the First World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 1,335 of the graves are unidentified, but special memorials commemorate 43 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.

There are also special memorials to 16 casualties known to have been buried in other cemeteries, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

The cemetery was created after the First World War when the French authorities brought graves of German soldiers to this place from the surrounding area. Most of the casualties were killed in March 1918 and the battles that followed. There are 2,251 German soldiers buried in the cemetery.

Beaumont-Hamel was attacked and reached on 1^st July 1916, but it could not be held. It was attacked again, and this time taken, on 13^th November 1916 and the British cemetery (originally titled as 'V Corps Cemetery No.23') was made by units taking part in that and subsequent operations until February 1917. It was increased after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the surrounding battlefields. The cemetery now contains 179 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 82 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to two casualties known to be buried among them.

The cemetery was designed by W H Cowlishaw.

Authuile and Aveluy are villages 4 kilometres north-east of the town of Albert. The Cemetery is situated in a valley half way between these two villages on the D151 (Cemetery is signposted on exit of Aveluy direction Authuile). The Cemetery is on the eastern side of the road D151 and access is 500 metres by grass pathway (unfit for cars).

The Cemetery was begun early in July, 1916, and used until the following November by the troops taking part in the fighting on that front. It then contained the graves of 212 soldiers, and comprised the whole of the present Plot 1 except 21 graves; and it was not used again until after the Armistice, when 784 graves were brought in from the battlefields and small cemeteries to the East. The majority of the officers and men thus reburied fell on the 1st July, 1916. There are now just over 1,000, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over half are unidentified, and special memorials are erected to 24 soldiers from the United Kingdom known or believed to be buried among them. There are five other special headstones commemorating soldiers from the United Kingdom, buried by the enemy in Becourt German Cemetery in the spring of 1918, whose graves could not be found on exhumation. The 70th Infantry Brigade erected a wooden memorial in the cemetery to their dead of the 1st July, 1916. The cemetery covers an area of 4,236 square metres. The only main graveyard concentrated into Blighty Valley Cemetery was:-

QUARRY POST CEMETERY, AUTHUILE WOOD, which was on the South-Eastern edge of the Wood, in the commune of Ovillers-La Boisselle. It was used from July, 1916 to February, 1917, chiefly by units of the 12th (Eastern) Division, and it contained the graves of 50 soldiers from the United Kingdom.

There are three British First World War casualties buried in the communal cemetery.

There are 1,043 French soldiers buried in the cemetery. This figure includes 102 of whom are laid to rest in the ossuary. One British soldier is buried in the cemetery in grave number 582. He is Corporal Albert E King of the Royal Garrison Artillery. He died on 14^th October 1916.

Longueval is a village approximately 13 kilometres east of Albert and 10 kilometres south of Bapaume. Caterpillar Valley Cemetery lies a short distance west of Longueval on the south side of the road to Contalmaison.

Caterpillar Valley was the name given by the army to the long valley which rises eastwards, past "Caterpillar Wood", to the high ground at Guillemont. The ground was captured, after very fierce fighting, in the latter part of July 1916. It was lost in the German advance of March 1918 and recovered by the 38th (Welsh) Division on 28 August 1918, when a little cemetery was made (now Plot 1 of this cemetery) containing 25 graves of the 38th Division and the 6th Dragoon Guards. After the Armistice, this cemetery was hugely increased when the graves of more than 5,500 officers and men were brought in from other small cemeteries, and the battlefields of the Somme. The great majority of these soldiers died in the autumn of 1916 and almost all the rest in August or September 1918.

CATERPILLAR VALLEY CEMETERY now contains 5,569 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 3,796 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 32 casualties known or believed to be buried among them, and to three buried in McCormick's Post Cemetery whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

The French military cemetery contains the remains of 990 French soldiers. The cemetery was created next to the village communal cemetery by a French Tenth Army casualty clearing hospital in February 1916. Most of the casualties buried here died during the Battle of the Somme in the summer of 1916.

There is a plot at the western end of the French cemetery for Commonwealth burials. 393 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War are buried in this plot, but only 97 of them are identified. The graves of most of these unidentified casualties were brought in from the battlefields after the Armistice. Graves were also brought in for reinterment from Buire Communal Cemetery Extension after the war.

The village of Mametz was carried by the 7th Division on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, after very hard fighting at Dantzig Alley (a German trench) and other points. The cemetery was begun later in the same month and was used by field ambulances and fighting units until the following November.

The ground was lost during the great German advance in March 1918 but regained in August, and a few graves were added to the cemetery in August and September 1918. At the Armistice, the cemetery consisted of 183 graves, now in Plot I, but it was then very greatly increased by graves (almost all of 1916) brought in from the battlefields north and east of Mametz and from certain smaller burial grounds, including:-

• AEROPLANE CEMETERY, FRICOURT, on the old German front line to the south of Fricourt village. It contained the graves of 24 N.C.Os. and men of the 20th Manchesters who died on 1 July 1916.
• BOTTOM WOOD CEMETERY, FRICOURT, on the south edge of a small wood between Mametz and Fricourt Woods. This was a field ambulance station for some months from July 1916, and the cemetery contained 104 graves.
• BULGAR ALLEY CEMETERY, MAMETZ, 230 metres east of the village, named from a trench. It contained the graves of 24 soldiers who died on 1 July 1916, and all but one of whom belonged to the 22nd Manchesters.
• HARE LANE CEMETERY, FRICOURT, at the north-west corner of the village, named from a trench. It contained the graves of 54 soldiers who died on 1 and 2 July 1916, and of whom 49 belonged to the 10th West Yorks.
• MAMETZ GERMAN CEMETERY, in which 12 soldiers were buried by their comrades in July and August 1916. This cemetery was near the crossing of the Fricourt-Maricourt and Mametz-Bray roads.
• MANSEL COPSE CEMETERY, MAMETZ, on the Fricourt-Maricourt road, near the present Devonshire Cemetery
• MANSEL COPSE WEST CEMETERY, MAMETZ, 460 metres further west. These contained the graves of 51 men of the 2nd Border Regiment, who died on 1 July 1916.
• MONTAUBAN ROAD CEMETERY, CARNOY, which contained the graves of 25 soldiers (almost all of the 18th Division) who died on 1 July 1916.
• VERNON STREET CEMETERY, CARNOY, in the valley between Carnoy and Maricourt, at a place called "Squeak Forward Position". 110 soldiers who died in July-October 1916 were buried here by the 21st Infantry Brigade and other units.

Dantzig Alley British Cemetery now contains 2,053 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 518 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 17 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of 71 casualties buried in other cemeteries, whose graves were destroyed by shell fire. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

Mametz is a village in the Department of the Somme, 6.5 kilometres east of Albert. Devonshire Cemetery is 800 metres south of Mametz and is situated on high ground some 450 metres west of the road from Albert to Peronne (D938), 6.5 kilometres from Albert.

Mametz was within the German lines until the 1st July 1916, when it was captured by the 7th Division; and Mametz Wood, North-East of the village was taken on the 7th July and the following days. The 7th Division erected a memorial in the village, and the 14th and 16th Royal Welch Fusiliers erected memorials in the wood, to commemorate these engagments. (The 38th (Welsh) Division captured the wood again in August 1918). The 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiments, forming parts of the 7th Division, attacked on the 1st July 1916 from a point on the South-West side of Albert-Maricourt road, due South of Memetz village, by plantation called Mansel Copse; and there, on the 4th July, they buried their dead in a portion of their old front line. This place, subsequently became called Devonshire Cemetery. There are now 163 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-18 war commemorated in this site. Of these, 10 are unidentified, they are known to be men of the 9th Bn. Devonshire Regiment. The cemetery covers an area of 555 square metres and is enclosed by a brick wall.

The poet Lt William Noel Hodgson is buried here - Grave reference: A. 3.

Devonshire Cemetery Details

There is one burial in the communal cemetery, that of Second Lieutenant Robert Douglas Herman of 19 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. He formerly served with the South Lancashire Regiment. He was aged 23 when he died on 22^nd September 1916. This location was some miles behind the German Front Line at the timd of his death, and he was presumably buried by the Germans in this civilian cemetery.

Colincamps and “Euston” were within the British lines before the British offensive of July 1916, and the Cemetery was used as a front line burial ground during and after the unsuccessful attack on Serre on the 1st July. After the German retreat in March 1917 it was scarcely used, and towards the end of March 1918 it passed, with Colincamps, into enemy hands; but that was the limit of the German advance. The line was held, and pushed forward, by the New Zealand Division; and the Cemetery was used again for burials in April and May 1918.

The cemetery is particularly associated with three dates and engagements; the attack on Serre on the 1^st July 1916; the capture of Beaumont-Hamel on the 13^th November 1916; and the German attack on the 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade trenches before Colincamps on the 5^th April 1918. The whole of Plot I, except five graves in the last row, represents this original Cemetery of 501 graves.

After the Armistice, graves were brought in from the neighbouring communes. Some were in small Cemeteries and the rest were scattered over the battlefields. There are now over 1000 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, nearly 200 are unidentified and special headstones are erected to 17 New Zealand soldiers, 14 British and 1 Canadian known, or believed, to be buried among these. In addition, 1 British and 1 New Zealand soldier are commemorated as buried in small Cemeteries where their graves "were destroyed in later battles." The cemetery covers an area of 3,894 square metres and is surrounded by a red brick wall with stone coping.

The following Cemeteries were concentrated into Euston Road Cemetery after the war:

• COLINCAMPS CHURCHYARD, containing 14 New Zealand graves and one British, of March and April 1918. The church has been rebuilt on a new site.
• COLINCAMPS BRITISH CEMETERY, on the Eastern outskirts of the village. It was used from March 1917 to September 1918, and it contained the graves of 96 soldiers from the United Kingdom, 23 from New Zealand, and one unidentified.
• SOUTHERN AVENUE CEMETERY, MAILLY-MAILLET, about 900 metres East of Euston Road Cemetery, close to Southern Avenue Trench. It contained 14 New Zealand graves of March and May 1918.
• WHITE CITY CEMETERY, AUCHONVILLERS, in the fields about 900 metres North-East of Auchonvillers. It was used in 1916 and 1918, and contained the graves of 106 soldiers from the United Kingdom, nine from New Zealand, and three from Canada.
• BAYENCOURT COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, made by the 1st Essex Regiment in an orchard in April 1918, and containing eleven British graves.
• JEAN BART BRITISH CEMETERY, SAILLY-AU-BOIS, near Jean Bart Trench, between Hebuterne and Colincamps, containing the graves of fifteen men of the 1st Bn. 3rd New Zealand (Rifle) Brigade who fell on the 5th April 1918.
• JOHN COPSE BRITISH CEMETERIES, HEBUTERNE, called from one of four little woods on the 1916 front line, opposite Serre. These Cemeteries were made by the V Corps in 1917. No. 1 contained 38 and No. 2 139 graves, all of soldiers from the United, and almost all of the 12th and 13th East Yorkshire Regiment.
• LONELY BRITISH CEMETERY No. 2, COLINCAMPS, about 1.6 kilometres North-East of the Village, and close to Central Avenue Trench. It contained 17 New Zealand graves of March and May 1918.

The poet Sgt John William Streets was killed on 1^st July on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. His body was not found until many months after the battle. He is known to be buried in this cemetery and is commemorated at Special Memorial A. 6.

“A Soldier's Cemetery” Poem by John William Streets

In 1915 and 1916 the Allied front line ran between Foncquevillers and Gommecourt. The cemetery was made by French troops, and taken over by the British in the summer of 1915; the first British burials were those of the 10th Royal Fusiliers in September. It remained in use by units and Field Ambulances until March, 1917, the burials in July, 1916 (particularly in Plot I, Row L) being especially numerous. It was used again from March to August, 1918, when the German offensive brought the front line back to nearly the old position. Seventy-four graves were brought in after the Armistice from the battlefields of 1916 and 1918 to the east of the village; and the 325 French military graves were removed to La Targette French National Cemetery, near Arras. There are now over 650, 1914-18 and a small number of 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over 50 from the 1914-18 War are unidentified and special memorials are erected to two soldiers from the United Kingdom known to be buried among them. There is 1 French civilian burial, unmarked, in front of Plot 1. Row A, and there are also 4 German Foreign National burials, 2 of which are unidentified. The cemetery covers an area of 3,444 square metres and is enclosed by a brick wall. The cemeteries included in this part contain the graves of many officers and men of the Sherwood Foresters, and the village of Foncquevillers was later "adopted" by the town of Derby.

The German military cemetery at Fricourt is the resting place for 17,027 German First World War soldiers.

Fricourt German Military Cemetery Details

Meaulte is a village a little south of Albert. Leave Albert by heading south-east on the D329 in the direction of Meaulte. Go through the village of Meulte in the direction of Bray-sur-Somme. After leaving Meulte, 2.5 kilometres down the road turn right towards Etinehem (C6) heading south. The first CWGC signpost is at this turn off. Follow the C6 for 0.8 kilometres and then follow the second CWGC signpost indicating a right turn down a dirt track. Carry straight on down the dirt track for 0.4 kilometres and Grove Town British Cemetery is on the left hand side of this track.

In September 1916, the 34th and 2/2nd London Casualty Clearing Stations were established at this point, known to the troops as Grove Town, to deal with casualties from the Somme battlefields. They were moved in April 1917 and, except for a few burials in August and September 1918, the cemetery was closed. Grove Town Cemetery contains 1,392 First World War burials. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Hawthorn Ridge Cemetery No. 2

Authuille is a village 5 kilometres north of the town of Albert on the D151 road to Grandcourt. The Cemetery (signposted in the centre of Authille) is 1 kilometre east of the village. Access to the cemetery, 500 metres from the road, is by a grass pathway (unsuitable for cars).

On the 1st July, 1916, the 32nd Division, which included the 1st Dorsets and the 11th (Lonsdale) Battalion of the Border Regt., attacked the German line at this point and stormed the Leipzig Salient, but were compelled to retire later in the day. In the spring of 1917 the V Corps cleared these battlefields, and made, among others, the cemeteries then known as Lonsdale No. 1 and No. 2. Lonsdale Cemetery No. 1 (the present Lonsdale Cemetery) contained originally 96 graves (now in Plot I), the great majority of which were those of officers and men of the 1st Dorsets and the 11th Borders. It was enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of graves (almost all of 1916) from the surrounding battlefields. There are now 1,542 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-18 war, 816 of which are unidentified, commemorated in this site. Special memorials are erected to 22 soldiers from the United Kingdom, known or believed to be buried among them. There is also 1 French Foreign National burial here. The cemetery covers an area of 4,605 square metres and is enclosed by a low red brick wall. Of the smaller burial grounds now represented in this cemetery:-

• LONSDALE CEMETERY No. 2, AUTHUILE, was about 500 metres further East. It contained the graves of 38 soldiers from the United Kingdom (31 of whom belonged to the 11th Borders) and two German soldiers.
• NAB ROAD CEMETERY, OVILLERS-LA-BOISSELLE, was on the road running up Nab Valley, about 914 metres East of Lonsdale Cemetery. It contained the graves of 27 soldiers from the United Kingdom, who fell in July, September and October, 1916.
• PAISLEY AVENUE AND PAISLEY HILLSIDE CEMETERIES, AUTHUILE, were on the South side of Thiepval Wood. They contained the graves of 284 soldiers and Marines from the United Kingdom (mainly of the 49th (West Riding) Division), who fell in July, 1916-February, 1917, and two German soldiers.

Louvencourt is a village 13 kilometres south-east of Doullens on the road to Albert (D938). The Cemetery is on the south-eastern side of the village.

From July 1915 to August 1916, field ambulances were established at Louvencourt, which was nearly 10 kilometres behind the front line on 1 July 1916. Following the 1916 Somme offensive, these medical units moved further east and the cemetery was little used until the German advances of April 1918 pushed the Allied line back to its old position. The graves of 1918, in rows D and E, relate to the climax of that fighting. There are now 151 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in this cemetery and 76 French war graves dating from 1915. The cemetery also contains three graves from the Second World War. The cemetery, one of the first three Commission cemeteries to be built after the First World War, was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

The cemetery contains the graves of 1,610 French soldiers. The cemetery was started in 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.

Miraumont is a village and commune about 13 kilometres north-north-east of the town of Albert on the D50 road. The Communal Cemetery is on the northern side of the village. In the centre of Miraumont take the street 'Rue du Cimetiere' which leads to the Communal Cemetery. (There is a signpost at the entrance of the Communal Cemetery, but none in the centre of Miraumont.)

Miraumont was occupied by British troops at the end of February, 1917, lost on the 25th March, 1918, and retaken by the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division on the following 24th August. It was later "adopted", with Colincamps and Courcelles, by the town of Burnley. The Communal Cemetery was largely used by German troops, and soldiers from the Commonwealth were buried in it by the enemy. There are now nearly 30, 1914-18 and a small number of 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site.

Becordel-Becourt is a village 2.5 kilometres east of Albert on the D938 (Albert-Peronne) road. Follow the C1 north to Becourt, pass under a bridge and Norfolk Cemetery will be found 700 metres along on the east side of the road.

The Cemetery was begun by the 1st Norfolks in August, 1915, and used by other units (including the 8th Norfolks) until August, 1916. After the Armistice it was nearly doubled in size by the concentration into Plot I, Row D, and Plot II of graves from the battlefields near by. There are now nearly 550, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over 220 are unidentified. The Cemetery covers an area of 2,539 square metres and is enclosed on the road side by a brick wall.

In June 1916, just before the opening of the Battles of the Somme, the 3rd and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations came to Puchevillers. Plots I to V, and almost the whole of Plot VI were made by those hospitals before the end of March 1917. For the next two months the 2nd/1st South Midland Casualty Clearing Station used the cemetery. Plot VII contains for the most part the graves of men who died in the German advance in 1918, many of whom were buried by the 49th Clearing Station in March 1918, or by the 48th Labour Group in August.

Puchevillers British Cemetery contains 1,763 First World War burials. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

The village of Serre is 11 kilometres north-north-east of Albert. Using the D919 from Arras to Amiens you will drive through the villages of Bucquoy, Puisieux then Serre Les Puisieux (approximately 20 kilometres south of Arras). On leaving Serre Les Puisieux, 1.3 kilometres further along the D919, Serre Road No.2 Cemetery can be found on the left hand side.

In June 1916, the road out of Mailly-Maillet to Serre and Puisieux entered No Man's Land about 1,300 metres south-west of Serre. On 1 July 1916, the 31st and 4th Divisions attacked north and south of this road and although parties of the 31st Division reached Serre, the attack failed. The 3rd and 31st Divisions attacked once more on the 11 November, but again without success. Early in 1917, the Germans fell back to the Hindenburg Line and on 25 February, Serre was occupied by the 22nd Manchesters. The village changed hands once more in March 1918 and remained under German occupation until they withdrew in August. In the spring of 1917, the battlefields of the Somme and Ancre were cleared by V Corps and a number of new cemeteries were made, three of which are now named from the Serre Road. Serre Road Cemetery No 2 was begun in May 1917 with the burials in Plots I and II, but was greatly enlarged after the Armistice. There are now 7,126 Commonwealth burials of the First World War in the cemetery, mostly dating from 1916. Of these, 4,943 are unidentified. The cemetery, which was not completed until 1934, was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Serre-Hébuterne military cemetery was created between 1919 and 1923. It contains the graves and remains of French soldiers killed in action during fighting against the German front line at Hébuterne from 10^th-13^th June 1915.

Serre-Hébuterne Cemetery Details

Colincamps is a village about 16 kilometres north of Albert. Sucrerie Military Cemetery is about 3 kilometres south-east of the village on the north side of the road from Mailly-Maillet to Puisieux.

The cemetery was begun by French troops in the early summer of 1915, and extended to the west by British units from July in that year until, with intervals, December, 1918. It was called at first the 10th Brigade Cemetery. Until the German retreat in March, 1917, it was rather more than a 1.6 kilometres from the front line; and from the end of March, 1918, (when the New Zealand Division was engaged in fighting at the Sucrerie) to the following August it was under fire. The 285 French and twelve German graves were removed to other cemeteries after the Armistice, and in consequence there are gaps in the lettering of the Rows. There are now 1,104 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these 219 casualties are unidentified. The cemetery covers an area is 6,322 square metres and it is enclosed by a low brick wall.

The cemetery is in the grounds of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, which serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive. The cemetery is located at the western end of the memorial. There are equal numbers of Commonwealth and French graves, with a plot of French graves lying to the south of the plot of Commonwealth graves.

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing

Warlincourt and Saulty are villages on either side of the main road (N25) between Arras (22 kilometres) and Doullens (13 kilometres). Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery is situated just off the north side of the road. Large signs clearly indicate access 200 metres before the site coming from either direction.

The site of the cemetery was chosen in May 1916. It was used from June, 1916, to May, 1917, by the 20th and 43rd Casualty Clearing Stations, in February, 1917, by the 1/1st South Midland, and from April till June, 1917, by the 32nd. The whole of plots VII, VIII, IX and X were filled in April and May, 1917, the months of the Battles of Arras. From June, 1917, the cemetery was practically unused until the fighting of May and June, 1918, when Field Ambulances buried in it. After the Armistice the cemetery was increased by graves brought in from the small British cemeteries at Gaudiempre, La Herliere and Couturelle. There are now over 1,200, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The cemetery covers an area of 5,545 square metres. The small cemeteries concentrated into Warlincourt Halte British Cemetery were the following:- GAUDIEMPRE MILITARY CEMETERY contained 33 British graves, and lay on the South-East side of the village of Guadiempre near the road to St. Amand. It was used from June, 1916, to April, 1918, chiefly by the Field Ambulances of the Divisions in the sector. COURTURELLE COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION contained 10 British graves. It was East of the village, on the South side of the road to Gombremetz; and it was used by Field Ambulances and fighting units from April, 1916, to February, 1917. LA HERLIERE MILITARY CEMETERY lay between the villages of La Herliere and Larbret. It was used from June, 1916, to January, 1917, by Field Ambulances and fighting units, and contained 13 British graves.

Warloy-Baillon is a village about 21 kilometres north-east of Amiens along the D919 to Arras. The Communal Cemetery is on the east side of the village and the extension is on the eastern side of the cemetery.

The first Commonwealth burial took place in the communal cemetery in October 1915 and the last on 1 July 1916. By that date, field ambulances had come to the village in readiness for the attack on the German front line eight kilometres away, and the extension was begun on the eastern side of the cemetery. The fighting from July to November 1916 on the northern part of the Somme front accounts for the majority of the burials in the extension, but some are from the German attack in the spring of 1918. The communal cemetery contains 46 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and 158 French war graves. The extension contains 1,331 First World War Commonwealth burials and two from the Second World War. There are also 18 German war graves in the extension.

This cemetery was started in the spring of 1917 by the British V Corps and was originally called Y Ravine Cemetery No. 1. By that time the British Front Line had moved further east beyond the 1st July 1916 battle lines so it was possible to retrieve and bury soldiers who had been lying in this area for the best part of a year.

Y Ravine Cemetery Details