Half-Day Tour From Arras to Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, Thiepval

Our first stop will be Beaumont-Hamel at the Newfoundland Memorial

On 1 July 1916 at 9 am, the men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment suddenly found themselves under fire from German machine guns. Half an hour later only 68 men were still alive .In view of the number of soldiers involved, this attack is considered to be one of the deadliest battles of the Somme offensive. In Beaumont-Hamel the Newfoundland Memorial gives a moving and realistic impression of the battles waged here thanks to a beautifully preserved network of trenches.

Thiepval -Franco British Memorial

It was built between 1929 and 1932 and was designed by Edwin Lutyens, the greatest and most prolific Britisn architect of his generation. It commemorates the 72205 men of the British and South African armies who died or went missing in the Somme between July 1915 and March 1918. The 45-metre high tower is the largest British war Memorial worlwide.

Thiepval -The Ulster Tower

The Ulster Tower, copy of Helen’s Tower in Clandeboyne, Ireland, where the Ulster Division trained. The tower was built in 1921 thanks to public funds. The Gothic troubadour style tower commemorates the soldiers of the Ulster battalions who fought here, in particular on 1 July 1916.

La Boisselle -Lochnagar Crater

The impressive mine crater, measuring 91 metres across and which is 21 metre deep, is the result of series of explosions on 1 July 1916. The craters were created at 7:28 am and the detonation of the mines marked the launch of the Battle of the Somme by the British troops

There are English and French speaking guides in the interpretation center.