Beaumont-Hamel

Beaumont-Hamel 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
Commune
The monument to the dead, in Beaumont
Location of Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel Beaumont-Hamel
Coordinates: 50°05′02″N 2°39′26″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Péronne
Canton	Albert
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Pays du Coquelicot
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Agnes Briet-Lavaquerie[1]
Area ^1	8.31 km^2 (3.21 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[2]	215
• Density	26/km^2 (67/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	80069 /80300
Elevation	70–148 m (230–486 ft) (avg. 75 m or 246 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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. 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. On 1 July 1916, 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.

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:

• A number of British cemeteries (among which Beaumont-Hamel British Cemetery[4])
• Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. One of only two National Historic Sites of Canada outside Canada (the other being the Canadian National Vimy Memorial) and includes three British Cemeteries[5] (Y Ravine Cemetery, Hawthorn Ridge Cemetery No. 2 and Hunter's Cemetery) as well as the Scottish Monument and a memorial to the 29th division (of which the Newfoundland Regiment was a part).
• Hawthorn Ridge Crater

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
2. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
3. Baker, John (June 5, 2014). "White City', located near Beaumont Hamel on the Somme, 1916. | British Army First World War". www.army.mod.uk. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
4. Beaumont-Hamel British Cemetery on the CWGC website
5. Beaumont-Hamel (Newfoundland) Memorial on the CWGC website

External links

• Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial on the Veteran Affairs Canada website