| Location: |
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, 3 kilometres further along the D919, turn left following the
signs for Auchonvillers. At the crossroads in the village centre, follow
the signs for 'Newfoundland Park, Beaumont Hamel'. "Y" Ravine Cemetery is
located within the Park.
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| Historical Information: |
"Y" Ravine runs East and West about 800 metres
South of the village, from "Station Road" to the front line of July, 1916;
it was a deep ravine with steep sides, lined with dug-outs, and extending
two short arms at the West end. The village of Beaumont-Hamel was attacked
and reached on the 1st July, 1916, by units of the 29th Division (which
included the Royal Newfoundland Regiment), but it could not be held. It
was attacked again and captured, with the Ravine, by the 51st (Highland)
Division on the 13th November, 1916. The Newfoundland Memorial Park, and
the 29th and 51st Divisional Memorials within it, commemorate these
engagements, and "Y" Ravine Cemetery is within the Park. The village was
later "adopted", with three others in the Somme, by the City of
Winchester. The cemetery was made by the V Corps in the spring of 1917,
when these battlefields were cleared. It was called originally "Y" Ravine
Cemetery No. 1; No. 2 cemetery was concentrated after the Armistice into
Ancre British Cemetery, Beaumont-Hamel. There are now over 400, 1914-18
war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over a third are
unidentified and special memorials are erected to 53 soldiers (or sailors
or Marines) from the United Kingdom and eight from Newfoundland, known or
believed to be buried among them. The cemetery covers an area of 1,166
square metres and is enclosed by a rubble wall. |
