Serre

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Serre

Serre

Serre is famous because it was here where many of the men of the northern 'Pals' Battalions experienced their first and last taste of war in the first few minutes of the battle.

Beaumont Hamel is inextricably linked with the fate of the Newfoundland Regiment following their huge losses there on 1 July 1916. Today a large memorial park reminds us of their sacrifice.

The action around Serre and Beaumont-Hamel

Written by Mike

Extract from IGN Map 2407O

Many of the actions of the Battle of the Somme are associated with particular groups of soldiers. Serre is a good example of this being associated with the Northern ‘Pals’ Battalions.

Pals Battalions

Written by Mike

Sheffield Pals Battalion in training

The Battle of the Somme was one of the first major actions of the First World War in which Kitchener’s New Army and the famous Pal Battalions were involved to any degree.

Serre - The Objective

Written by Mike

Serre from the south east. The line of trees across the upper centre of the picture is the Sheffield Memorial Park. The British front lines followed the site of the park. The German front lines ran between the park and the village. The 31st Division attacked at this point on 1 July 1916. 17 October 1993. (Ref 93/139/01A)

Serre was one of a number of front line villages in the Somme sector that had been heavily fortified by the Germans ever since they had taken up their positions in the area in late September 1914.

Serre - The Attack

Written by Mike

Serre from the south west. Serre is a small hamlet set amongst rich farmland. In 1916 it was one of the German strongholds on this sector of the front line, the ruins of the village being used to hide machine gun positions from which the attacking British Pals were mown down in thousands. 28 March 1993. (Ref 93/107/36)

The attack on Serre was a disaster. There were 3,599 casualties, of which a large proportion had been killed. The 31st Division and its Pals Battalions were decimated.

12th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment, Sheffield City Battalion Memorial

Written by Mike

Monument to the 'Pals' at Serre. The monument is inscribed “To the memory of the officers and men of the 12th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment – Sheffield City Battalion – who fell before Serre 1916”. 21 November 1993. (Ref 93/142/11A)

The 12th Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment, Sheffield City Battalion Memorial to the Pals is in Serre.

Sheffield Memorial Park

Written by Mike

Sheffield Memorial Park. The park has been left with its remains of shell holes and trenches. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-35)

Sheffield Memorial Park is a small enclosure on a slope up which the British troops had to fight their way against determined German opposition.

Luke Copse Cemetery

Written by Mike

Luke Copse Cemetery contains the graves of 72 soldiers from the United Kingdom of whom 28 are unidentified. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-29)

Luke Copse Cemetery is situated on the position of the British front line on 1 July 1916.

Railway Hollow Cemetery

Written by Mike

Railway Hollow Cemetery contains the graves of 107 soldiers from the United Kingdom and two from France. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-32)

Railway Hollow Cemetery is situated on the position of the British support line on 1 July 1916. It is 1,300 yards west of Serre and 200 yards west of the plantation called Mark Copse.

Queens Cemetery

Written by Mike

Queens Cemetery. The cemetery cntains the graves of 312 soldiers from the United Kingdom of which 131 are unknown. 7 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-24)

Queens Cemetery is the largest of the group of cemeteries near Sheffield Memorial Park.

Serre Road No.1 Cemetery

Written by Mike

Serre Road No.1 Cemetery contains 2,500 graves, many of which are of the Pals who fell in their hundreds during the attack on Serre on 1 July 1916. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-23-16)

Serre Road No.1 Cemetery is a very large Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery situated on the No Man’s Land over which the Leeds and Bradford Pals attacked the village of Serre.

Serre Road No.2 Cemetery

Written by Mike

Serre Road No.2 Cemetery is massive. It covers an area of 27,429 square metres and contains a staggering 7,127 graves. 28 March 1993. (Ref 93/108/02)

Serre Road No.2 Cemetery is a massive Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery south west of the village of Serre.

Serre Road No.3 Cemetery

Written by Mike

Serre Road No.3 cemetery contains the graves of 84 soldiers from the United Kingdom of which 49 are unknown, 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-23)

Serre Road No.3 Cemetery contains the graves of 84 soldiers from the United Kingdom (mainly of the 31st Division) who fell in July and November 1916. There are 49 unknown graves in the cemetery.

Redan Ridge

Written by Mike

Redan Ridge from the south east. The ground on Redan Ridge is still pockmarked with craters from when mines were exploded on 1 July 1916. The British front lines at that time ran just beyond the clump of trees and the cemetery. The German front lines ran across the foreground of the picture. The cemetery to the right of the trees is Redan Ridge Cemetery No.1. The site of the cemetery is midway between the British and German front lines. 17 October 1993 (Ref 93/139/07A)

Redan Ridge was a heavily fortified German position that overlooked a lot of the surrounding countryside between the fortified villages of Serre and Beaumont-Hamel.

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.1

Written by Mike

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.1. The cemetery contains the graves of 154 soldiers who belonged mainly to the 4th Division and were killed on 1 July 1916, or to the 2nd Division who gained ground in the area on 13 November 1916. There are 73 unknown graves in the cemetery. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-16)

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.1 is situated on top of Redan Ridge, midway between the old front lines.

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.2

Written by Mike

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.2 is situated about 100 yards west of the old German front line on 1 July 1916. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-13)

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.2 is situated about 100 yards west of the old German front line on 1 July 1916.

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.3

Written by Mike

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.3. The cemetery contains 67 graves of which 34 are unknown. Redan Ridge Cemetery No.1 can be seen in the distance on the horizon. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-22-20)

Redan Ridge Cemetery No.3 is built on the site of the old German front line trenches of 1 July 1916.

Ten Tree Alley Cemetery

Written by Mike

Ten Tree Alley Cemetery contains the graves of 63 soldiers of which 20 are unknown. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-24-02)

Ten Tree Alley Cemetery contains the graves of 63 soldiers of which 20 are unknown.

Munich Trench Cemetery

Written by Mike

Munich Trench Cemetery is named after a German trench captured by the 7th Division on 11 January 1917. The cemetery stands on high ground in an area containing a large number of war cemeteries. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-24-14)

Munich Trench Cemetery is named after a German trench captured by the 7th Division on 11 January 1917. The cemetery stands on high ground in an area containing a large number of war cemeteries.

Waggon Road Cemetery

Written by Mike

Waggon Road Cemetery contains the graves of 195 soldiers from the United Kingdom, of whom 36 are unknown. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-24-12)

Waggon Road Cemetery contains the graves of 195 soldiers from the United Kingdom, of whom 36 are unknown.

Frankfurt Trench British Cemetery

Written by Mike

Frankfurt Trench British Cemetery contains the graves of 161 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in November 1916 or January 1917. There are 34 unknown graves in the cemetery. 5 October 2002. (Ref 0203711)

Beaumont-Hamel was attacked by the 29th Division on the 1st July 1916, but it could not be held. It was attacked again and taken on 13 November 1916 by the 51st (Highland) and 63rd (Royal Naval) Divisions.

New Munich Trench British Cemetery

Written by Mike

New Munich Trench British Cemetery contains the graves of 146 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in November 1916 or January 1917. Of these, 93 belonged to the 10/11th, 16th or 17th Highland Light Infantry. There are 18 unknown graves in the cemetery. 27 April 2002. (Ref 02-24-05)

Beaumont-Hamel was attacked again and taken on the 13th November 1916, by the 51st (Highland) and 63rd (Royal Naval) Divisions.

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