John Macauley-William(Billy)Logan-Bryan Marks-Tom Fulton-Jim Turkington           
   (Front) David (Box)Cruthers   

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the missing of the Somme, bears the names of 73,357 officers and men of the
United Kingdom, Ireland and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no
known graves. Over 90% of these men died in the period between 1st July 1916 and November 1916.

The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial  in recognition of the joint nature of the battle. A small
cemetery containing equal amounts of 300 French and 300 Allied forces lies at the foot of the memorial.

The memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The memorial stands 150 feet high and dominates the surrounding
landscape. Supported on a foundation which is 19 feet deep. This was needed to support the structure due to the extensive
war time tunnelling below. The memorial was built between 1928 and 1932. Controversy surrounded the building of the
memorial at the time due to its size and cost, many thought the money would be better spent on the veterans themselves.

The Memorial was unveiled on 1st August 1932 by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), in the presence of the
President of France, Albert Labrum. The unveiling was to take place on 16 May but due to the untimely death of French
President Doumer, the service was postponed as a mark of respect.

Some 125,000 British Empire Forces made up of volunteers form Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South
Africa lost their lives in the Battle of the Somme. These brave soldiers are commemorated on national memorials
elsewhere in the Somme area.

The Thiepval Memorial