The Bapaume Post Military Cemetery (French: Cimetière militaire de Bapaume Post, Albert) is a cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The cemetery is also known colloquially as the Tara Hill Cemetery and the Usna Hill Cemetery.
The cemetery honors mainly those who were killed in the 1 July 1916 attack on the village of La Boiselle, those who died defending the line in the areas east and west of the cemetery, and those who died retaking the village and the surrounding area in August 1918.
Location The cemetery is located on the southeastern side of the D929 road between the town of Albert and the village of La Boiselle. It is located west of Tara Hill and southwest of Usna Hill.
Fighting around La Boiselle
The front line first crossed the area of the cemetery in June 1916. On 1 July 1916, the British 34th Tyneside Division, supported by various other units, mounted an unsuccessful attack on La Boiselle by marching up the upward sloped D929. They captured the village on 4 July after further attacks. On 26 March 1918, the village and the town of Albert were taken again by the Germans, but were recaptured in August of the same year. The 36th Welsh Division captured the nearby Usna Hill on 23 August.
Establishment
History The cemetery was begun in July 1916 by the divisions manning the local line. 152 graves were dug in Plot I, rows B through I, by the end of January 1917. After the end of the war, graves from nearby battlefields, including those of the 34th and 36th divisions, were reburied in the cemetery. The cemetery was designed by Charles Holden and William Harrison Cowlishaw.
Layout The Bapaume Post Cemetery is rectangular in shape and is split into Plots I, II, and III. A Cross of Sacrifice is located in the lower left hand corner, to the left of Plot III and in front of Plot I.
Statistics A total of 410 casualties are buried in the cemetery, of which 181 are unidentified and 229 are identified. Special memorials are dedicated to three soldiers believed to be buried among the unknown. +Identified Burials by NationalityNationalityNumber of BurialsUnited Kingdom146Canada64Australia18South Africa1 +Number of Burials by UnitCanadian Burials64Northumberland Fusiliers26Australian Burials18Royal Field Artillery14Royal Welsh Fusiliers12Royal Warwickshire Regiment11Royal Engineers5South Lancashire Regiment5The Queens4Royal Scots4Suffolk Regiment4Gloucestershire Regiment3Lincolnshire Regiment3Machine Gun Corps3North Staffordshire Regiment3Rifle Brigade3Royal Berkshire Regiment3Royal Sussex Regiment3South Wales Borderers3Worcestershire Regiment3Royal Army Medical Corps3Royal Garrison Artillery3East Lancashire Regiment2Essex Regiment2Norfolk Regiment2Northamptonshire Regiment2Royal Fusiliers (City of London)2South Staffordshire Regiment2Buffs1East Yorkshire Regiment1King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)1King's Royal Rifle Corps19th Btn London Regiment. Queen Victoria Rifles1Loyal North Lancashire Regiment1Manchester Regiment1Royal Irish Rifles1Welsh Regiment1Wiltshire Regiment1South African Burials1
References