Citadel New Military Cemetery Explained

Citadel New Military Cemetery
Established:August 1915
Type:Military
Graves:380 total, 363 identified
Country:British and Commonwealth
Location:Fricourt, Somme, France
Owner:Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
Coordinates:49.9766°N 2.7186°W
Findagraveid:2195030

The Citadel New Military Cemetery is a military cemetery located in the Somme region of France commemorating British and Commonwealth soldiers who fought in World War I. It contains mainly burials made by field ambulances before the Battle of the Somme, although it was also used by some units in the final months of the war. The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.[1]

Location

The cemetery is located near a geographic feature called "the Citadel" in an area known as the "Happy Valley", approximately 2.5 kilometers south of the village of Fricourt on the D147 road. Fricourt is approximately 5 kilometers east of the town of Albert, France.

Establishment of the Cemetery

The cemetery was begun by French troops in August 1915. It was used by various Commonwealth units up until November 1916. Many burials date from the capture of Fricourt by the British 17th (Northern) Division on 2 July 1916. The cemetery was reopened once in August 1918. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and Arthur James Scott Hutton.[2]

Statistics

There are a total of 380 Commonwealth burials in the cemetery, of which 363 are identified and 17 are unidentified. All identified casualties are British.

Unit
Unit
Manchester Regiment52Border Regiment39
Royal Warwickshire33Lancashire Fusiliers25
Royal Engineers22Royal Welch Fusiliers19
Queen's – Royal West Surrey Regiment17Royal Field Artillery16
Gordon Highlanders15Cheshire Regiment13
South Staffordshire Regiment13Devonshire Regiment12
Norfolk Regiment11Royal Berkshire Regiment11
Bedfordshire Regiment9Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders6
Duke of Welling's – West Riding Regiment5Grenadier Guards5
Royal Irish Regiment5Royal Fusiliers – City of London Regiment4
Essex Regiment3Machine Gun Corps – Infantry3
Welsh Guards3East Yorkshire Regiment2
Green Howards – Yorkshire Regiment2Irish Guards2
Middlesex Regiment2Royal Army Medical Corps2
9th Bn. London Regiment – Queen Victoria's Rifles1Black Watch – Royal Highlanders1
Coldstream Guards1Dorsetshire Regiment1
Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry1King's Liverpool Regiment1
North Staffordshire Regiment1Royal Artillery1
Royal Garrison Artillery1Royal Horse Artillery1
Royal Sussex Regiment1Suffolk Regiment1

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cemetery Details CWGC. 2021-03-20. www.cwgc.org. en.
  2. Web site: Citadel New Military Cemetery, Fricourt, Somme, (CWGC). 2021-03-20. WW1 Cemeteries.com – A photographic guide to over 4000 military cemeteries and memorials. en.