The Devonshire Cemetery marks the position of a British trench that overlooked German positions during WWI on the first day of the Battle of the Somme
The cemetery marks the position of a WWI front line British trench that overlooked German positions that led to the First World War telling tragedy of the Devonshire Regiment and their epitaph " The Devonshires hold this trench, the Devonshires hold it still" The men buried here are the Devonshires 8 & 9th Battalions. On the 1 July 1916 [first day of the battle of the Somme] they were to advance in full view of the enemy over difficult shell-holed terrain towards the village of Memetz. A Devon's officer Captain Duncan Lenox Martin, constructed a plasticine model of the ground to be crossed which was used by Brigade HQ in preparation. Cast Martin realised that a German machine gun position in Memetz would massage his me if not silenced in the preliminary bombardment. His warning were not heeded at higher level and he and 162 men were subsequently mowed down by the machine gun firing from the Shrine in Memetz village The battalion Chaplain buried all that he could collect in our front line trench. The cemetery holds 163 British burials of the Devons that fell that day.
Size: 4500px × 6000px
Location: Mametz, Somme, France
Photo credit: © Allan Hartley / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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