Thiepval

Thiepval (tjɛpval; Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. The original village was totally destroyed during the First World War. The present Thiepval occupies a location a short distance to the southwest of the former settlement. The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, a major war memorial to British and Commonwealth men who died in the First World War Battle of the Somme and who have no known grave, is located near the commune. The First World War Franco-British Memorial and the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is an imposing monument of brick and stone standing high. It is visible for several kilometres in every direction. It is the work of the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. The sixteen pillars are engraved with the names of 73,367 British and Commonwealth soldiers who fell during the Battle of the Somme between July and November 1916 and who have no known grave.