| Cemetery: | Y RAVINE CEMETERY, BEAUMONT-HAMEL, Somme, France |
| Grave Reference/ Panel Number: |
A 41 |
| 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. |
| 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. |