Devonshire Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Devonshire Cemetery is a small Commonwealth War Graves Commission
(CWGC) burial site for some of the Commonwealth troops killed during the Battle of the Somme. It is located near to the village of Mametz
. The cemetery grounds were assigned to the British Empire
in perpetuity by the French state in recognition of the sacrifices made by the Allies in the defence of France
during the First World War.
All but two of the graves in the cemetery are of men from the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment.
After the war, the architect W H Cowlishaw was commissioned to submit a design for a permanent site.
The cemetery contains the graves of 163 soldiers. Captain William Noel Hodgson
, MC
, a war poet is buried here.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
(CWGC) burial site for some of the Commonwealth troops killed during the Battle of the Somme. It is located near to the village of Mametz
Mametz
Mametz is the name of two communes in France:* Mametz, Pas-de-Calais* Mametz, Somme...
. The cemetery grounds were assigned to the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
in perpetuity by the French state in recognition of the sacrifices made by the Allies in the defence of 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...
during the First World War.
All but two of the graves in the cemetery are of men from the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment.
Foundation and development of the cemetery
The cemetery was established on 4 July 1916, employing a section of the old front line trench in Mansel Copse. This ground had originally been held by troops of the 9th Devons before the attack towards the German positions in Mametz on 1 July. Casualties were extremely heavy. After the attack a wooden board was erected close to the mass grave with the legend, 'The Devonshires held this trench, the Devonshires hold it still'. The same inscription is now to be found on the stone memorial tablet unveiled in 1986.After the war, the architect W H Cowlishaw was commissioned to submit a design for a permanent site.
Notable graves
W. N. Hodgson
William Noel Hodgson MC was an English poet of the First World War. During the war, he published stories and poems under the pen name Edward Melbourne.-Life:...
, MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
, a war poet is buried here.
Further reading
- Reed, Paul (1997) Walking the Somme: A Walker's Guide to the 1916 Somme Battlefields, Battleground Europe Series, Pen and Sword Books, ISBN 0-85052-567-5, pp 133-134.
- Stedman, Michael (1997) Somme:Fricourt-Mametz, Battleground Europe Series, Pen and Sword Books, ISBN 0-85052-567-8, pp 130-132.