Auchonvillers Military Cemetery

Last updated
Auchonvillers Communal Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Auchonvillers Military Cemetery 4 1.JPG
Auchonvillers Military Cemetery
Auchonvillers Military Cemetery
Details
EstablishedJune 1915
Location
Auchonvillers, France
TypeMilitary
No. of graves528
Websitecwgc.org

The Auchonvillers Military Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains soldiers who died manning the Allied front line near the village of Auchonvillers. [1]

Contents

Location

The cemetery is located on the outskirts of Auchonvillers, which is approximately 20 kilometers south of Arras, France. The two towns are linked by the D919 road. The coordinates of the cemetery are 50°04′50″N2°37′36″E / 50.08059°N 2.62674°E / 50.08059; 2.62674 . [2]

Establishment of the Cemetery

History

Between the beginning of the war and mid-1915, the front was held by French troops, who started the cemetery in June 1915. From 1915 until the German retreat in February 1917, the cemetery was used by Commonwealth units including the 51st Highlanders and military hospitals, who referred to it as "Ocean Villas". [3] The cemetery was seldom used after 1917. After the Armistice agreement ended hostilities in the Great War, 15 more graves were created for soldiers who died in the area east of the cemetery. French graves have since been moved to separate burial grounds. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and William Cowlishaw. [1] [2]

Statistics

Cemetery Plan for Auchonvillers Cemetery Cemetery Plan for Auchonvillers Communal Cemetery.gif
Cemetery Plan for Auchonvillers Cemetery

Currently, 528 Commonwealth soldiers are buried in the cemetery. 487 soldiers are identifiable, including 457 British, 8 Canadians, and 2 New Zealanders. [2]

Identified Burials by Nationality [2]
NationalityNumber of Burials
United Kingdom457
Canada8
New Zealand2
Identified Burials by Unit [5]
Lancashire Fusiliers47Border Regiment33
Royal Dublin Fusiliers25Middlesex Regiment23
New Zealand burials22Royal Sussex Regiment18
Black Watch17Royal Fusiliers - City of London Regiment16
Royal Engineers15Royal Field Artillery15
Duke of Wellington - West Riding Regiment13Worcestershire Regiment13
Royal Warwickshire Regiment12Seaforth Highlanders12
Gordon Highlanders11Hampshire Regiment11
Lincolnshire Regiment11Royal Irish Rifles11
Royal Irish Fusiliers9Essex Regiment8
Gloucestershire Regiment8Royal Irish Regiment8
Royal Newfoundland Regiment8Royal Scots8
South Wales Borderers8Suffolk Regiment8
Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders7East Yorkshire Regt.7
Highland Light Infantry7King's Own Scottish Borderers7
East Lancashire Regiment6French burials6
Royal Garrison Artillery6West Yorkshire Regiment6
King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry5Machine Gun Corps5
Northumberland Fusiliers5Rifle Brigade5
Hertfordshire Regiment4Loyal North Lancashire Regiment4
Manchester Regiment4Royal Navy Division - Infantry4
Bedfordshire Regiment3Monmouthshire Regiment3
Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Regiment3King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment3
South Lancashire Regiment3York & Lancaster Regiment3
Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers2Royal Welsh Fusiliers2
Buffs - East Kent Regiment1King's Liverpool Regiment1
King's Royal Rifle Corps1King's Shropshire Light Infantry1
Norfolk Regiment1Queen's - Royal West Surrey Regiment1
Royal Berkshire Regiment1Royal Scots Fusiliers1

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commonwealth War Graves Commission</span> Commonwealth organisation responsible for war graves

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War. The commission was founded by Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. The change to the present name took place in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thiepval Memorial</span> Memorial in Somme, France

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the village of Thiepval, Picardy in France. A visitors' centre opened in 2004. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, Thiepval has been described as "the greatest executed British work of monumental architecture of the twentieth century".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Y Ravine Cemetery, Beaumont-Hamel</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

Y Ravine Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of World War I situated on the grounds of Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park near the French town of Beaumont-Hamel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Nord, France

The V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) World War I cemetery and memorial. It is in the commune of Fromelles, in the Nord departement of France, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of the village of Fromelles on the D22C road (rue Delval).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foncquevillers Military Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC Cemetery in Pas-de-Calais, France

Foncquevillers Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for military personnel who died on the Western Front during the First World War. It is located in the Pas de Calais region of France. Originally established in 1915 by the French military for its soldiers, it was later used for British personnel. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), there are 648 soldiers of the First World War interred in the cemetery with 53 of them unidentified. Another four graves are for German soldiers of the First World War, while five Canadian airmen who died in the Second World War and a French civilian are also buried in the cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Authuile Military Cemetery</span> CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Authuile Military Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the First World War. The cemetery contains soldiers who died on a variety of dates in several battles near the French village of Authuile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Aveluy Communal Cemetery Extension is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating French and British Commonwealth troops who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery honors mainly soldiers who died holding the line near the village of Aveluy from slightly before July 1915 to 26 March 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aveluy Wood Cemetery</span> Cemetery located in Somme, in France

The Aveluy Wood Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery honors mainly those who died on the front near Aveluy Wood and the village of Aveluy from June 1916 to February 1917 and from April to September 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bapaume Post Military Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Bapaume Post Military Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery is also known colloquially as the Tara Hill Cemetery and the Usna Hill Cemetery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beaumont Hamel British Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Beaumont Hamel British Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains mainly those who died on 1 July 1916 during the first Allied attack on the village of Beaumont-Hamel and in subsequent operations in the area until February 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beauval Communal Cemetery</span> Cemetery located in the Somme region of France

The Beauval Communal Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains casualties processed through the Allied 4th and 47th Casualty Clearing Stations in the village of Beauval in the First World War and a small number of casualties from the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bécourt Military Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Bécourt Military Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains those who died in a variety of dates from August 1915 to April 1917 manning the front line near the village of Becordel-Becourt and is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernafay Wood British Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Bernafay Wood British Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme and against the German 1918 spring offensive in World War I. The cemetery contains mostly those who died between July 1916 and April 1917 and March–August 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertrancourt Military Cemetery</span> CWGC WW1 cemetery in France

The Bertrancourt Military Cemetery is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in World War I. The cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and contains mainly those who died on the front line near the village of Bertrancourt in 1916, 1917, and June–August 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bouzincourt Communal Cemetery Extension</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Bouzincourt Communal Cemetery Extension is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains mostly those who died between May 1916 and February 1917 and between March and September 1918 on the front line near the village of Bouzincourt. The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and honors those who died on the front line near Bazentin from late July 1916 to May 1917.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery</span> Military cemetery in Somme, France

The Bronfay Farm Military Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British, Commonwealth, and French soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains mainly those who died between October 1914 and February 1917 and in 1918 near Bronfay Farm and the nearby village of Bray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulls Road Cemetery</span> WW1 CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Bulls Road Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery contains mostly those who died manning the front line near the village of Flers between September 1916 and March 1917 and between March 1918 and September 1918. The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery</span> WWI CWGC cemetery in Somme, France

The Cerisy-Gailly Military Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in World War I. The cemetery contains mainly those who died on the front line near the village of Cerisy between February 1917 and March 1918 and during the Allied recapture of the village in August 1918.

References

  1. 1 2 "Cemetery Details | CWGC". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Auchonvillers Military Cemetery, Somme, France (CWGC)". WW1 Cemeteries.com - A photographic guide to over 4000 military cemeteries and memorials. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  3. "First World War.com - The Western Front Today - Auchonvillers Cemetery". www.firstworldwar.com. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  4. Canada, Veterans Affairs (2019-02-20). "Auchonvillers Military Cemetery - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada". www.veterans.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-02-13.
  5. "Auchonvillers Military Cemetery". silentwitness.freeservers.com. Retrieved 2021-03-20.