Bulls Road Cemetery

Last updated
Bulls Road Cemetery
Flers (Somme), cimetiere militaire Bulls Road 9-2-2.jpg
Bulls Road Cemetery
Details
EstablishedSeptember 1916
Location
Flers, Somme, France
CountryBritish and Commonwealth
Coordinates 50°02′57″N2°49′41″E / 50.04917°N 2.82807°E / 50.04917; 2.82807
TypeMilitary
Owned byCommonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
No. of graves776 total, 296 unidentified
Website Official website
Find a Grave Bulls Road Cemetery

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. [1] [2]

Contents

Location

The cemetery is located approximately half a kilometer outside of Flers, which is approximately 8 kilometers northeast of Albert, France. [1] [2]

Fighting near Bulls Road and Flers

Flers was captured on 15 September 1916 by the British 41st Division and New Zealand Division in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, which was incidentally the world's first significant combat action that featured tank warfare. The village was taken by the Germans in their 1918 spring offensive, but had been retaken by the 10th West Yorks and the 6th Dorsets of the British 17th Division by the end of August 1918. [2]

Establishment of the Cemetery

The cemetery was begun on 19 September 1916 and was used by Commonwealth units, especially the Australians, until March 1917. In September 1918, the 17th division reburied soldiers killed in the previous 6 months in the cemetery. After the war, graves from fields between Flers and the village of Longueval were reburied in the cemetery. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. [2]

Statistics

The cemetery contains a total of 776 burials, of which 475 are identified and 296 are unidentified. Special memorials are dedicated to 15 soldiers (8 from Australia, 5 from the UK, and 2 from New Zealand) believed to be buried among the unknown. [2] [3]

Known Burials by Nationality [1]
NationalityNumber of Burials
United Kingdom493
Australia155
New Zealand122
Bulls Road Cemetery Plan Bulls Road Cemetery Plan.gif
Bulls Road Cemetery Plan
Known Burials by Unit [3]
Unit#Unit#
Australian burials155New Zealand burials85
King's Royal Rifle Corps39East Yorkshire Regiment36
Royal West Kent Regiment27Hampshire Regiment25
Dorsetshire Regiment18Durham Light Infantry13
King's Liverpool Regiment10Royal Field Artillery9
Lancashire Fusiliers6Royal Berkshire Regiment6
Welsh Regiment6Manchester Regiment4
Bedfordshire Regiment3Middlesex Regiment3
Royal Sussex Regiment3Green Howards - Yorkshire Regiment2
Royal Dublin Fusiliers2Royal Engineers2
Royal Fusiliers – City of London Regiment2Royal Garrison Artillery2
West Yorkshire Regiment2Worcestershire Regiment2
London Regiment – 3rd Bn. Royal Fusiliers1London Regiment – 6th Bn. London Rifles1
London Regiment – 19th Bn. St. Pancras1Loyal North Lancashire Regiment1
Machine Gun Corps1Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry1
Queen's – Royal West Surrey Regiment1Royal Army Medical Corps1
South Wales Borderers1Suffolk Regiment1
Tank Corps1Wiltshire Regiment1

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Bulls Road Cemetery, Somme, France (CWGC)". WW1 Cemeteries.com – A photographic guide to over 4000 military cemeteries and memorials. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cemetery Details | CWGC". www.cwgc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  3. 1 2 "Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers". silentcities.50megs.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.