The Western Front Today - Beaumont-Hamel Cemetery
Beaumont-Hamel cemetery is located nearby the famous Sunken Lane in which British cameraman Geoffrey Malins filmed the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers ready to go over the top at 07.30 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Opposite the cemetery is the Hawthorn Mine crater, the explosion of which Malins filmed at 07.30, some ten minutes before the Somme Offensive began.
The cemetery consists of two lines of graves, most of which are unknown. They date from 1 July 1916 and early 1917. The cemetery includes a solitary German burial.
References:
Before Endeavours Fade, Rose E.B. Coombs, After the Battle 1994
Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide - Somme, Leo Cooper 2000
In preparation for the Battle of the Somme, the British launched a seven-day artillery bombardment in which 1,500 guns fired 1.6 million rounds.
- Did you know?
