MILL ROAD CEMETERY
Thiepval
Somme
France
General Directions: Thiepval is a village on the D151 road about 8 kilometres north of the town of Albert. The Cemetery (signposted at Thiepval) is about 1kilometre north-west of the village on the north side of the D73 road to 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. Mill Road Cemetery was made in the spring of 1917 when the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg line allowed the battlefield to be cleared. At the Armistice, it contained 260 burials but was then greatly enlarged when graves were brought in from smaller cemeteries and from the battlefields of Beaumont-Hamel and Thiepval. Many of the graves here are laid down on the ground, this was necessary due to subsidence from the many tunnels beneath the ground which criss-cross this area.
Further Information: The CWGC advise that the track leading up to the cemetery is suitable for vehicles, this is at the very least debatable, it is usually advisable to park outside Connaught Cemetery which stands at the bottom of the track and walk up to the cemetery.
Casualty Details: UK 1304, Total Burials: 1304
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