About

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is the largest Commonwealth memorial anywhere in the world and is dedicated to the 72,254 British and South African men who died in the Somme battles between 1915 and 1918 and have no known grave. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens it sits on the ridge above the River Ancre and dominates the battlefield for miles around. The design was an adaptation of a memorial originally intended for St Quentin. By the time building began in 1928, French sensitivities about the number and scale of British monuments on the Western Front forced Sir Edwin to reduce the height of his original conception to bring it below the height of the Arc de Triumphe in Paris. The Thiepval Memorial was unveiled on 1 August 1932 by the Prince of Wales (see photographs below). At the base of the memorial is a cemetery with 300 Commonwealth and 300 French graves to signify the joint nature of the 1916 offensive and as a further gesture to mollify the French. The dead of other Commonwealth countries, who died on the Somme and have no known graves, are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere. There is now an excellent visitor centre close to the memorial which opened in 2004. In 2016 Princes Charles, William and Harry attended a service of commemoration at Thiepval to mark 100 years since the first Somme battle began. The memorial has been completely renovated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission with a new internal drainage system, repointing of some of the brickwork and the panels cleaned or replaced.

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58 Rutlanders remembered here
ABSOLON
Edwin Urquhart
From South Luffenham
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ALLETT
Cecil
From Oakham
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BEAVER
Charles Ernest
From Ashwell
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BENNINGTON
Charles Edward
From Oakham
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BERRIDGE
Herbert Joyce
From Morcott
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BOTTOMLEY
Thomas
From Exton
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BRADSHAW
Frederick
From Whissendine
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BRANSTON
Arthur Edward
From Lyddington
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BROMHEAD
John Paul
From Oakham
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CLIFTON
William George Edward
From Barrowden
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COLE
Harry Wyatt
From Langham
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DEWHIRST
William Horace Lantsbery
From Oakham School
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ELLWOOD
Geoffrey Thomas Lovick
From Cottesmore
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ENGLISH
Alfred Cecil
From Oakham School
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FORD
Alfred
From Oakham
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FORMBY
Thomas Hope
From Ridlington
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FOWLER
John
From Tinwell
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FREEMAN
William Henry
From Market Overton
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GOODWIN
John
From Ayston
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HIBBITT
George Freeman
From Empingham
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HICKSON
William
From Stretton
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HOPKINS
Harry
From Barrowden
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HOYLES
Frank
From Oakham
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HUBBARD
Edwin
From Wing
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JEFFS
Ernest Henry
From Caldecott
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KILLIPS
William
From North Luffenham
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KIRBY
William
From North Luffenham
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KNOTT
Ernest
From Langham
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LOWE
Charles
From Barleythorpe
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MEADWELL
Robert Samuel
From Morcott
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PARKER
George Richard
From Normanton
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PAWLETT
Samuel
From Hambleton
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PHILLIPS
Horace Lefevre
From Uppingham
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PICKERING-CLARKE
John Norman
From Oakham School
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PRESTON
Albert Edward
From Hambleton
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PYKETT
Tom Downs
From Ayston
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ROBINSON
Frederick
From Belton-in-Rutland
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SADDINGTON
George Henry
From North Luffenham
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SHELVEY
William Noel
From Morcott
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SKILLETT
George
From Barleythorpe
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SKINNER
Aubrey
From Ketton
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STEELE
Hugh
From Exton
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STREET
Frank
From Uppingham
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TAYLOR
John Charles
From Oakham
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TERRELL
Victor James
From Great Casterton
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THOMPSON
Ernest Shilcock
From Whitwell
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THORPE
William
From Langham
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TRYON
Henry
From Oakham
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TYERS
Harry
From Uppingham
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VIDLER
George Holbrook Eric
From Oakham School
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WADE
Charles
From Oakham
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WALKER
Thomas
From Lyddington
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WARBOYS
Harry
From Belmesthorpe
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WESTON
Harry
From Greetham
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WHITTAKER
Thomas Gould
From Ketton
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WOOD
Basil Vaughan
From Oakham School
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WOODCOCK
William E
From Oakham
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WOODWARD
James
From Morcott
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User contributions

2 images Remembrance Service 2014
By John Stokes on Tuesday 11th November '14 at 5:50pm
A Rutlander, living in Belgium
Thiepval Memorial 2015
By Matt Steele on Monday 30th March '15 at 10:16am
 

Rutland and The Battle of the Somme

More than 90 Rutland soldiers died in the Battle of the Somme which lasted from 1 July 1916 until the middle of November. Today they lie in cemeteries across the old battlefield in northern France or are remembered among the 72,000 names on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. By using our interactive map, you can find out what happened to them.

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