Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme stands on a ridge above the village of Thiepval in the Somme department of Hauts-de-France. Designed by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled on 1 August 1932 by the Prince of Wales in the presence of the French president, Albert Lebrun. The memorial commemorates 72,246 British and South African soldiers who died in the Somme sector between July 1915 and 20 March 1918 and who have no known grave. The village itself was a fortified German strongpoint on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and was not captured until late September 1916. Visitors encounter a monumental structure of brick and Portland stone, rising about 45 metres, built as a series of interlocking arches of increasing size, a design that Lutyens intended to suggest a doorway through which the missing pass without ever being seen. Sixteen piers carry the names of the dead, organised by regiment and rank, in panels of Portland stone. Beneath the arches lies a crypt, and an altar-like Stone of Remembrance stands in front of the central arch. Behind the memorial is the Anglo-French Cemetery, in which 300 Commonwealth and 300 French soldiers are buried, mostly unidentified, a deliberate symbol of the alliance on the Somme. The site is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which keeps the lawns, hedges and registers in the character of a formal garden. A modern visitor centre close to the memorial, opened in 2004 and run by the Historial de la Grande Guerre, interprets the battle through photographs, maps and personal stories, and a small exhibition identifies the sectors named on each panel. The curatorial approach is commemorative rather than museum-led: the memorial itself is the principal exhibit and visitors read the names directly on the piers. Because the structure is exposed brickwork on a hilltop, it has needed periodic repointing and stone cleaning, and its overall state of preservation is good. The memorial remains the setting for the annual 1 July commemoration of the opening of the battle. Visiting takes around 60 to 90 minutes including the cemetery and exhibition, and entry to the grounds and memorial is free.