Beaumont-Hamel

Beaumont-Hamel (French pronunciation: [bomɔ̃ amɛl]) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Map of Beaumont-Hamel during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 (red – British front line, blue – German fortifications).

Beaumont-Hamel
The monument to the dead, in Beaumont
The monument to the dead, in Beaumont
Coat of arms of Beaumont-Hamel
Location of Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel is located in France
Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel is located in Hauts-de-France
Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel
Coordinates: 50°05′02″N 2°39′26″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentSomme
ArrondissementPéronne
CantonAlbert
IntercommunalityCC du Pays du Coquelicot
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Agnes Briet-Lavaquerie[1]
Area
1
8.31 km2 (3.21 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2020)[2]
204
  Density25/km2 (64/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
80069 /80300
Elevation70–148 m (230–486 ft)
(avg. 75 m or 246 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Beaumont Hamel Dedication Ceremony to Newfoundland Regiment

During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was close to the front line, near many attacks, especially during the Battle of the Somme, one of the largest allied offensives of the war.

On 1 July 1916, the First Day of the Somme, the 29th Division assaulted the German front line in an attempt to capture the village as part of the Somme Offensive. Included in this Division was the Newfoundland Regiment. Newfoundland commemorates this event as Memorial Day on 1 July each year.

Its capture by the 51st (Highland) Division on 18th November 1916 marked the end of the Battle of the Somme. Fought over for many years, by 1918, the village had been almost totally destroyed.

The banks of white chalk at Beaumont Hamel led to a sector of British trenches being nicknamed "White City".[3] To the west of the village was Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt, one of the sites of the mines exploded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.


The fields around Beaumont-Hamel after the Battle of the Somme.

Notable sights

As there was heavy fighting in this area during the Great War, there are many cemeteries and monuments, among which:

References

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