CONNAUGHT CEMETERY
Thiepval
Somme
France
General Directions: Thiepval is a village about 8 kilometres north-east of Albert. The Cemetery (signposted in the village) is about one kilometre north-west of Thiepval on the road (D73) Thiepval-Hamel.
Before the 1916 Battle of the Somme, Thiepval was in German hands, garrisoned by the 160th Regiment of Wurtembergers. On 1 July 1916, it was attacked unsuccessfully by the 36th (Ulster) Division and no further attempt on the village was possible until 26 September, when it was captured by the 18th Division. Thiepval remained under Allied occupation until 25 March 1918 when it was lost during the great German offensive, but it was retaken on the following 24 August by the 17th and 38th (Welsh) Divisions. Connaught Cemetery was begun during the early autumn of 1916 and at the Armistice it contained 228 burials. It was then very greatly increased when graves were brought in from the small cemeteries and battlefields in the immediate area, the great majority being those of officers and men who died in the summer and autumn of 1916.
Casualty Details: UK 1286, Total Burials: 1286
25044 Private
P. Canavan
15th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers
01/07/1916, aged 43.
Husband of Bridget Canavan, of Cellar, Rosmuck, Co. Galway.
Plot II. E. 4.
Picture courtesy of his Grandson Thomas Canavan
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