We popped in for a drink at the restaurant opposite and then had a stroll through the Hill 60 site, which is now managed by CWGC. The preserved German bunker is particularly interesting and the pockmarked ground with mine craters makes a visit worthwhile. A good example of a preserved battlefield site. Further information signs, or a more detailed on-line commentary would help.
This Page is published on the 104th Anniversary of the Queen Victoria’s Rifles valiant defence of the Hill on 20th April 1915
Courtesy greatwar.co.uk
The Memorial Site on Hill 60 is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is a site which was the scene of desperate fighting in April and May 1915 between the British and German armies. The launch of a British attack on 17th April 1915 began with the explosion of three mines which literally blew the top off the hill.
Hundreds of soldiers lost their lives on this small area of ground at that time and owing to subsequent fighting across the ground later in the war it was not possible to recover or identify many of them at the end of the war.
Tunneling and mining operations were carried out here by French, British, Australian and German soldiers. If tunnels caved in or were blown in by the enemy the soldiers who died underground were usually left where they died because of the difficulty of retrieving them. The remains of many soldiers, therefore, still rest in this site.
Visitors are reminded to be respectful that this is a memorial site.
17th Battalion Manchester Regiment on the Somme 