Hunter's Cemetery Explained

Hunter's Cemetery
Body:Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Use Dates:1914–1918
Established:1917
Nearest Town:Beaumont-Hamel, France
Total:46
By Country:Allied Powers
  • United Kingdom: 46
By War:World War I

46

Hunter's Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of World War I situated on the grounds of Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park near the French town of Beaumont-Hamel.

History and layout

During the Battle of the Somme, German forces near Beaumont-Hamel were attacked in vain on 1 July 1916. The area was finally captured by the 51st (Highland) and 63rd (Royal Naval) Divisions on the following 13 November. Hunter's Cemetery, possibly named after Reverend Hunter, a Chaplain attached to the Black Watch Regiment, is in fact a great shell-hole. Soldiers of the 51st Division, who fell in the capture of Beaumont-Hamel were buried in the shell-hole after the battle. There are now over 40 war casualties commemorated in this site. Hunter's Cemetery stands at the upper end of "Y" Ravine, within Newfoundland Memorial Park.