The Battles of Delville Wood, at the heart of the Somme, took place between Commonwealth and German soldiers during July and September 1916, with a considerable loss of life on both sides. Delville Wood Cemetery at Longueval commemorates 5,523 fallen Commonwealth soldiers, who today lie at peace behind a monumental entrance arch topped by a bronze equestrian sculpture by Alfred Turner. Most of the graves at Delville Wood are unmarked, as thousands of remains were moved from their temporary battlefield graves and reburied there after the Armistice in 1918. Military history enthusiasts often combine a visit to the Delville Wood Cemetery with the Delville Wood South African National Memorial just opposite, plus other nearby World War I-related sites as part of a Somme battlefields tour.
You’ll need a car to reach Delville Wood Cemetery, just outside the village of Longueval south of Arras in the Pas-de-Calais. The site is not served by public transportation, so the easiest way to visit is by joining a Somme battlefields tour that includes transportation from Paris.
Choose a dry, mild day to visit this open-air cemetery, as there is little shelter from the rain or cold. The opening hours vary by season, so check the website before you visit; as a general rule, Delville Wood Cemetery is open daily from 10am to 4 or 5:30pm.
Some of the war’s most important battles were fought in the hills of the Somme River, and military history fans still visit this area today to learn more about the offensive fought here. Alongside the Delville Wood Cemetery, some of the top World War I-related attractions in this area include the Lochnagar Crater, Ulster Memorial Tower, and Thiepval Museum at the Thiepval Memorial, which uses multimedia and interactive exhibits to bring the history of World War I to life.
