Mailly Wood Cemetery

[Marc Thompson]

I visited Mailly Wood Cemetery last week for the first time. The Cemetery is situated on the outskirts of the village of Mailly-Maillet on the left hand side of the road to Amiens, where it is signposted from the main road onto a 500 metre track.

The cemetery contains 702 burials and commemorations of the First World War.

Mailly-Maillet was within the line taken over from the French in the summer of 1915, and several Commonwealth cemeteries were made in the commune. Mailly Wood Cemetery was begun with the burial of thirteen men of the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders who died on 25 June 1916, and in November 1916, the 51st (Highland) Division buried in it following the capture of Beaumont Hamel.

Thereafter, the cemetery was little used until April-August 1918, when the German attack on Amiens brought the front line very close, and further burials were made by the 12th Division (in May) and the 21st (in August), among others. After the Armistice graves from the battlefields immediately north-east of the village were brought into the cemetery, and 30 graves from Mailly Maillet Military Cemetery in the village itself. 60 of the burials are unidentified and there are special memorials to two casualties whose graves in the cemetery could not be found, and to six whose graves in the military cemetery were destroyed by shell fire. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.

The following photos will I hope emphasise how well the cemetery is maintained.

[Marc Thompson]

Summer in bloom!

[burlington]

I was there last year taking some photos.

It really is a lovely place.

[Chris Noble]

Great pictures Marc, thanks for sharing them.

On the other side of the coin, i took this picture of the cemetery late one evening in February. I can assure you, it was the coldest evening i've ever had on the Somme, hence the rather hazy look to the shot. Copious amounts of brandy were consumed after this for medicinal purposes

Chris.

[burlington]

I have never been to the Somme in winter- only early Spring and late Summer.

It is probably my real ambition but logistics militate against it.

Lovely photo.

Martin