Hamel Military Cemetery

Description

The cemetery was begun by battle units and field ambulances in August 1915 and was used until June 1917. After the Armistice the cemetery was extended with graves from the immediate vicinity.

The cemetery lies approx.imately fifty metres from the road and is accessible by way of a grassy path that leads the visitor to the cemetery. The austere cemetery is nearly square in shape and has no War Stone, in spite of its 500 graves. Lutyens and Hutton added two plateaux to the existing field with graves, in addition to an entry path as far as the road. The entrance on the road is marked by two short pillars that are repeated at the second entrance to the field with graves. Four steps have been inserted between the two pillars and a semicircular plateau has been installed in front of the entrance, forming the visitor’s first physical contact with the cemetery. The entrance is situated between two block-shaped hedges. The pillar on the left is connected with the cemetery by a long wall and, on the right-hand side, a hedge accompanies the visitor either to the cemetery or to the public footpath that continues along the cemetery. The second entrance is similar to the first, but has a little gate by means of which the cemetery can be locked up in view of the public character of the footpath. The Cross of Sacrifice and the shelter are opposite to one another on two identical plateaux with special memorials.

The shelter has an austere design of stone and has a semicircular balcony, similar to the entrance. The arch recurs in the arched end of the alcove, behind which a storage space has been built in. The building as a whole has been incorporated in the wall of the cemetery. There are seven trees in the cemetery. Each plateau has two maple trees and there are three whitebeams in various places. (Geurst, 2010, p.316)

Bibliography

Geurst, J. (2010) Cemeteries of the Great War by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.

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Listing Reference

Client

Imperial War Graves Commission