Puneet Varma (Editor)

London Cemetery and Extension

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Established
  
1916

Total burials
  
4,037

Designed by
  
Sir Herbert Baker

Unknown burials
  
3,113

London Cemetery and Extension

Location
  
near Longueval, Somme, France

Address
  
D107, 80360 Longueval, France

Similar
  
BERNAF WOOD BRITISH, NoFifty6 Bed and Breakfast, Lonsdale Cemetery (WWI Co, Bapaume Post Military C, Beaumon Newfoun Memorial

London cemetery and extension longueval somme


The London Cemetery and Extension is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery at High Wood near Longueval, France. It is the third largest of the Somme battlefield cemeteries, containing 3,872 World War I burials.

The cemetery stands directly opposite High Wood as it exists today. This area was the centre of fierce fighting in 1916 and the first interments at what would become the London Cemetery were 47 soldiers of the 47th (London) Division killed in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette on 15 September. These soldiers, barely a handful of those who had lost their lives in the attack, were buried in a large shell hole in the days following the battle. By the time of the Armistice, further burials had taken place, bringing the number of graves to 101.

The Extension of the cemetery came in the years following the war when graves from the surrounding battlefields were transferred to the land around the London Cemetery, greatly increasing its size. Like a number of other cemeteries and memorials in the area, the London Cemetery and Extension was designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker. The original battlefield cemetery was left intact within The London Cemetery and Extension following its redesign.

Although the cemetery primarily contains World War I graves, 165 soldiers were reburied there after World War II. These graves are together in one section at the far end of the cemetery.

References

London Cemetery and Extension Wikipedia