The 51st Division Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel is a memorial in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 commemorating the soldiers of the 51st (Highland) Division killed during World War I. The memorial is located near Y Ravine on the 84 acres (339,936.2 m²) Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial

The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the commemoration of Dominion of Newfoundland forces members who were killed during World War I. The preserved battlefield park encompasses the grounds over which the Newfoundland Regiment made their unsuccessful...

 site. This position had been the scene of the Division's first major victory on 13 November 1916 during the Battle of the Ancre

Battle of the Ancre

The Battle of the Ancre was the final act of the 1916 Battle of the Somme. Launched on 13 November 1916 by the British Fifth Army of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough, the objective of the battle was as much political as military.-Prelude:The Allied commanders were due to meet at Chantilly on 15...

, the closing stage of the Battle of the Somme.

Memorial

The ground originally donated by the commune of Beaumont-Hamel

Beaumont-Hamel

Beaumont-Hamel is a commune in the Somme department in Picardy in northern France.During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was very close to the front lines and saw heavy combat, especially during the Battle of the Somme which was the largest Allied offensive of the entire war. By 1918 the...

 to the Veterans of the 51st (Highland) Division, for the purposes of a memorial, were found to be unstable because of the many dugouts on the site. Lieutenant Colonel Nangle, the former Roman Catholic padre of the Newfoundland Regiment who was largely responsible for the establishment of the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial, offered the association a location overlooking Y Ravine within the boundaries of the site. Y Ravine was a forked gully (hence its name) which contained a formidably-fortified warren of defensive positions that had been the scene of a stunning victory by the Highland Division on 13 November 1916.

The selected sculptor for the 51st Division Monument was George Henry Paulin

George Henry Paulin

George Henry Paulin, often called Harry Paulin, or 'GHP' was a Scottish sculptor and artist of great note in the early 20th century....

. The base of the monument consists of rough blocks of Rubislaw granite

Rubislaw quarry

Rubislaw Quarry was opened in 1740 and is located at the Hill of Rubislaw in the west end of the Scottish city of Aberdeen. In 1778, Aberdeen city council sold it to a businessman, as it was not thought to be a source of good building material...

 which were produced by Garden & Co. in Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, and are assembled in a pyramid form. Company Sergeant Major Bob Rowan of the Glasgow Highlanders

Glasgow Highlanders

The Glasgow Highlanders was a former Territorial Army regiment in the British Army, it eventually became part of The Highland Light Infantry regiment in 1881, which later became The Royal Highland Fusiliers in 1959...

 was used as the model for the kilted figure atop the memorial. The figure faces east towards the village of Beaumont-Hamel. On the front of the memorial is a plaque inscribed in Gaelic: which in English translates into "Friends are good on the day of battle".

The 51st Division Memorial was unveiled on 28 September 1924 by Marshal of France

Marshal of France

The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...

 Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch

Ferdinand Foch , GCB, OM, DSO was a French soldier, war hero, military theorist, and writer credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century. He served as general in the French army during World War I and was made Marshal of France in its...

, the former Allied Supreme Commander. The memorial was dedicated by the Reverend Sinclair, who had been a chaplain with the Division. The pipers of the 2nd Battalion

2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

The 2nd Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were formed in 1881 when the 91st Regiment of Foot was amalgamated with the 93rd Regiment of Foot to form the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.-Early history:...

 of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....

 played Flowers of the Forest

Flowers of the Forest

Flowers of the Forest is an ancient Scottish folk tune. Although the original words are unknown, the melody was recorded in c. 1615-25 in the John Skene of Halyards Manuscript as "Flowres of the Forrest", though it may have been composed earlier....

during the event. The memorial was re-dedicated on 13 July 1958, the front panel now also commemorating those of the Division who died during the Second World War.