Thiepval Visitor Centre, Somme Battlefields, France
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The Thiepval Visitor Centre was built in 2004. It is located a short distance from the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme and the Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery.
The idea for a visitor centre museum was first discussed at the annual ceremony of Remembrance on 1st July 1998. Sir Frank Sanderson led a small group in the campaign to build this educational centre. The Anglo-French project was brought to fruition with the help of generous donations to meet the British fundraising target of £660,000.
The Visitor Centre has been imaginatively constructed at ground level so that it does not impact as an obtrusive building on the local area around the Thiepval Memorial.
The Role of the Visitor Centre
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The Visitor Centre welcomes over 150,000 visitors to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing each year. At the Visitor Centre the memorial is put in the context of the battlefield. Display panels in three languages — English, French and German — provide an overview of the course of the Great War from 1914-1918.
Display panels focus on the events during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 which occurred at the small village of Thiepval and its surroundings.
Three films, each lasting approximately 10 minutes, have been specially compiled covering the subjects of Thiepval, The Battle of the Somme and Memory.
Thiepval Database Project
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In the entrance of the Visitor Centre a panel of 600 photographs represents the 72,000 men whose names are commemorated on the nearby Thiepval Memorial to the Missing.
As a Remembrance Project to honour and remember all of the men named on the Thiepval Memorial the collation of information about them has been ongoing since 2004.
If you have photographs of information on a soldier who is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing you are warmly invited to contact the Thiepval Database Project. See our page and contact details:
Visitor Information
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Opening Hours
Daily 10.00 - 18.00 hours
Closed for 15 days around Christmas and on 1 January (New Year's Day).
Admission
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Free
Facilities
- A well-stocked shop selling a wide range of books and maps related to the First World War and the battlefield of the Somme.
- Toilets.
- Vending machines for hot and cold drinks.
- Free parking for cars and coaches.
A fully illustrated 95 page Exhibition Centre Guidebook is available from the shop to purchase.
A leaflet and poster of the 600 soldiers in the “Panel of the Missing” is available to purchase.
Contact Information
Address: Thiepval Visitor Centre, Rue de l'Ancre, 80300 Thiepval, France
Telephone: +33 (0)3 22 74 65 44
Email: thiepval@historial.org
Location
The Thiepval Visitor Centre is located close to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. It can be reached from the D929 main road from Albert to Bapaume. In the village of Pozières on the D929 the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing is signposted. Driving from Bapaume in the north it will be signposted to the right to Thiepval on the D73. Driving from Albert in the south it will be signposted to the left to Thiepval on the D73.
The Thiepval Memorial is a short distance from the Visitor Centre.
Related Topics
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Building the Visitor Centre
For information about the origins of the Anglo-French project to build the Visitor Centre see:
www.thiepval.org.ukThiepval Memorial and Anglo-French Cemetery
The memorial and cemetery are located a short distance from the Thiepval Visitor Centre:
Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery
Historial de la Grande Guerre, Péronne
The Thiepval Visitor Centre is managed by the Historial de la Grande Guerre museum:
Cemeteries and Monuments on the Somme Battlefields
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There are many military cemeteries, monuments and several museums on the Somme 1914-1918 battlefields. For a comprehensive list giving the location go to:
Cemeteries on the Somme Battlefields
Monuments on the Somme Battlefields
Museums on the Somme Battlefields
Visiting the Somme Battlefields
For information about sites to see, places to visit and where to stay in the area of the Somme battlefields see our page at:
The Somme Battlefields of WW1, France