Guillemont () is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
approximately east of
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
in the
Somme department in
Hauts-de-France in northern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
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
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
when graves from surrounding areas were centralized here.
In
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Guillemont was one of several important strategic areas controlled by Germans that effectively divided Allied forces. It was changed hands several times during the war, before being finally taken and held by the British
20th (Light) Division
The 20th (Light) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, part of Kitchener's Army, raised in the First World War. The division was formed in September 1914 as part of the K2 Army Group. The division landed in France July 1915 and ...
and the
47th Brigade of the
16th (Irish) Division
The 16th (Irish) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, raised for service during World War I. The division was a voluntary 'Service' formation of Lord Kitchener's New Armies, created in Ireland from the ' National Volunteers' ...
Notable burials
*
Raymond Asquith
Raymond Herbert Asquith (6 November 1878 – 15 September 1916) was an English barrister and eldest son of British prime minister H. H. Asquith. A distinguished Oxford scholar, he was a member of the fashionable group of intellectuals known as ...
(1916)
*
Edward Tennant (1916)
[Helen McPhail, Philip Guest, ''Sassoon & Graves: on the Trail of the Poets of the Great War'' (2001), p. 175.]
See also
*
Communes of the Somme department
References
Communes of Somme (department)
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