The cemetery was begun by medical units of the Australian Imperial Force, hence the name. The medics were posted in the neighbouring caves, between November 1916 and February 1917. The cemetery was very greatly enlarged after the Armistice when almost 4,000 Commonwealth and French graves were brought in from the battlefields of the Somme, and later from a wider area. This makes it one of the largest on the Somme, but also its position up a little track makes it one of the least visited.  The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The cemetery also contains the grave of a VC winner, Sergeant Harold Jackson of the East Yorkshire Regiment. He lies in plot XV.A at the front of the cemetery. Cecil Drake from Morcott lies in Plot I, row D, grave 26