The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of
the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the
United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector
before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. The 1st July 1916 was the
first day of the Battle of the Somme and the British Army suffered
57,470 causalities of which 19,240 were killed. The village of Thiepval
was totally destroyed during World War 1 and the present day Thiepval is
a short distance to the south-west of the original village location. The
memorial at Thiepval is the largest British battle memorial in the world
at 150 feet high with foundations 19 feet thick. On the Portland stone
piers are the names of those who were lost in Somme battles between July
1916 and March 1918. |