GUILLEMONT HALT
Out and About
Guillemont Halt is ideally located as a base for you to explore the Somme area and further afield.
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The village of Guillemont is rich in history from WW1 and regularly features in the itineraries of battlefield visitors to the area wishing to see for themselves the local landscapes which played important roles in the fierce battles to capture the village. Visitors often take time to visit the many memorials within walking distance of the village such
as Guillemont Road Cemetery, the 16th Irish Division Celtic Cross, Trones Wood, the Maltz Horn Cross, the 20th Light Division Memorial and the Jersey Pals Memorial.
Further Afield
Venturing a little further afield from the village, you will find plenty of significant places to visit, some well known and other not so much. A few notable places to add to your itinerary are highlighted below.
Flag of the Somme
Thiepval Memorial to the Missing
Thiepval Memorial is the largest of the WW1 memorials to the missing, commemorating 72,395 British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave.
The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French battle memorial to commemorate the joint nature of the 1916 offensive. In further recognition of this, a cemetery, Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery, containing 300 British Commonwealth and 300 French graves lies at the foot of the memorial.
Further information on Thiepval can be found here.
Ulster Tower
The Ulster Tower was one of the first memorials to be erected after the war and commemorates the memory of the men of the 36th Ulster Division, who attacked the Schwaben Redoubt on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
The 21m high tower is almost a replica of Helen’s Tower on the Clandeboye Estate in Bangor, County Down in Northern Ireland.
Ulster Tower offers tours of Thiepval Wood which are available by appointment.
Click here for further information on visiting the tower and the wood tours.
Delville Wood
Delville Wood Memorial is a national memorial and is the only one dedicated to the participation of the South African Forces on the 1914-1918 Western Front.
Nearly 230,000 officers and men served with the South African Forces in the Great War. The number of casualties who died in action or who died of wounds is approximately 10,000.
The Delville Wood Museum is open every day except Monday as is the Cafe situated next to the car park.
Click here for further information on visiting Delville Wood.
Newfoundland Memorial
The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial stands as an important symbol of remembrance and a lasting tribute to all Newfoundlanders who served during the First World War. At the heart of the memorial stands a great bronze caribou (the emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment).
Further information on the Newfoundland Memorial can be found here.