Guillemont

Guillemont is a commune approximately 13 km (8 mi) east of Albert in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Guillemont
Commune
The high street of Guillemont, in 1916
Location of Guillemont
Guillemont Guillemont
Coordinates: 50°00′52″N 2°49′33″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Péronne
Canton	Péronne
Intercommunality	Haute Somme
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Didier Samain
Area ^1	3.27 km^2 (1.26 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[1]	137
• Density	42/km^2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	80401 /80360
Elevation	94–156 m (308–512 ft) (avg. 138 m or 453 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It, like much of the surrounding area, is primarily an agricultural community, but is known for its large Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, which has many visitors. The cemetery began as a field graveyard after the Battle of Guillemont, but was quickly expanded after the Armistice when graves from surrounding areas were centralized here.[2]

In World War I, Guillemont was one of several important strategic areas controlled by Germans that effectively divided allied forces. It was exchanged several times during the war, before being finally taken and held by the British 20th (Light) Division and the 47th Brigade of the 16th (Irish) Division

Notable burials

• Raymond Asquith (1916)[3]
• Edward Wyndham Tennant (1916)[4]

See also

• Communes of the Somme department

References

1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
2. "Guillemont Road Cemetery". CWGC. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
3. Plot I, Row B, Grave 3, headstone inscribed 'Small time but in that small most greatly lived this star of England', see Raymond Asquith entry at CWGC (1916-09-15), accessed 23 October 2017
4. Helen McPhail, Philip Guest, Sassoon & Graves: on the Trail of the Poets of the Great War (2001), p. 175