What to do and see in Somme, Hauts-de-France: The Best Monuments & Statues

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. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal numbers of Commonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial.

The Australian National Memorial was inaugurated in 1938 to commemorate all Australian soldiers who fought in France and Belgium during the First World War. The names of over 10,000 Australian soldiers with no known grave are listed on its walls. The memorial is adjacent the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery and the Sir John Monash Centre.

There are now 3,440 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 2,480 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 24 casualties believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of 35 casualties, buried in Mash Valley Cemetery, whose graves were destroyed in later fighting.

There are now 1,970 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 1,180 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to nine casualties five believed to be buried among them.