Mailly Wood Cemetery (French: ''cimetière de Mailly Wood'') is a

military cemetery A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be ...

with casualties from the First World War, located in the French village of

Mailly-Maillet Mailly-Maillet () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D919 road, about northeast of Abbeville. History It is close to the area of the Battle of the Somme. There a ...

(

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

). It is maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

Design

It was designed by the British architect

Reginald Blomfield Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856 – 27 December 1942) was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Early life and career Blomfield was born at Bow rectory in Devon, w ...

. The site covers an area of 2,099 m² and is surrounded by a brick wall covered by white capstones. There is a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...

(a feature designed by Blomfield for cemeteries containing 40 or more graves). It stands centrally against the northwest wall. The

Stone of Remembrance The Stone of Remembrance is a standardised design for war memorials that was designed in 1917 by the British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens for the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC). It was designed to commemorate the dead of World War I, to b ...

(designed by

Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memoria ...

) stands against the northeast wall.

Memorials

Most of the burials are of British soldiers. There are also New Zealanders and South Africans. 60 of the burials are unidentified. There is a

Duhallow Block A Duhallow Block is a type of memorial that is erected where graves have been lost, for example when they have been destroyed by subsequent conflict. It is a marker stone which is found in cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commiss ...

, a special memorial for those whose graves have been lost. It commemorates 6 soldiers whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

Distinguished soldiers

* One

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

recipient is buried in the cemetery: he is Harold John Colley who was killed in 1918. He was also awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

Access

The cemetery is located in the fields 450 m southwest of the village church. It is reached by a track which can be difficult to pass in winter.

Related site

About 1,250 m north of Mailly Wood is a smaller military cemetery known as Mailly-Maillet Communal Cemetery Extension. This is adjacent to the village cemetery.

References

{{reflist Cemeteries in Somme (department) Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in France World War I cemeteries in France