Abbeville Communal Cemetery Extension

Cemetery Details

Location Abbeville, Hautes de France - Somme, France
Co‑ordinates N50.12141, E1.83222
Description

For much of the First World War, Abbeville was headquarters of the Commonwealth lines of communication and No.3 BRCS, No.5 and No.2 Stationary Hospitals were stationed there variously from October 1914 to January 1920. The communal cemetery was used for burials from November 1914 to September 1916, the earliest being made among the French military graves. The extension was begun in September 1916.

During the early part of the Second World War, Abbeville was a major operational aerodrome, but the town fell to the Germans at the end of May 1940. On 4 June, an attempt was made by the 51st Division, in conjunction with the French, to break the German bridgehead, but without success. Towards the end of 1943, eight large ski shaped buildings appeared near Abbeville. These proved to be storage units for flying bomb components an they were heavily bombed by Commonwealth air forces. Abbeville was retaken on 4 September 1944 by Canadian and Polish units.

Abbeville Communal Cemetery contains 774 Commonwealth burials of First World War and 30 from the Second. The Extension contains 1,754 First World War burials and 348 from the Second.

The Commonwealth sections of both cemetery and extension were designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

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Names

Showing 8 people of interest from cemetery

COOPER, Thomas Harman

Service number 5351
Private
53rd Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1890

KOSTER , William Frederick

Service number 589
Private
41st Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 20 Nov 1893

STRAUGHAIR, Robert Thomas

Service number 4895
Driver
16th Infantry Battalion (WW1)
AIF WW1
Born 25 Apr 1895

SMITH, Walter Willoughby

Service number 869
Lieutenant
33rd Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1894

WALDOCK, Eric Alex

Service number 6104
Private
15th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1898

CUNNINGHAM, Thomas William

Service number 9612
Driver
11th Field Company Engineers
AIF WW1
Born 15 Mar 1894

BRIMS, George William James

Service number 18871
Driver
4th Field Company Engineers
AIF WW1

LARSEN, Arthur Alexander

Service number 3190
Private
59th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 8 Apr 1881

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