MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING OF THE SOMME, THIEPVAL
The Memorial to the Missing of the Battle of the Somme is located in the French village of Thiepval, 4.5 miles north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately 20 miles northeast of Amiens.
Designed by celebrated British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial was built between 1928 and 1932 and records the names of 73,367 British and Commonwealth soldiers who fell on the Somme sector before March 1918 but who have no known grave. Of those listed, more than 90% died between July and November 1916. To the rear of the memorial, a cemetery containing equal numbers of Commonwealth and French burials serves as recognition to the joint Anglo-French nature of the 1916 Somme offensive.
History
The British offensive on the Somme, which was supported by a French attack to the south, was launched at 7.30amon 1 July 1916 when thirteen divisions attacked on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite an intense seven-day preliminary bombardment however, the German defenders remained largely untouched and were able to offer unexpectedly fierce resistance to the advancing troops.
By the end of the first day of battle, British losses had been catastrophic. For only minimal gains, almost 20,000 men had been killed and another 40,000 were wounded. German losses on the whole Somme front were believed to number between 10,000-12,000.
In the weeks that followed, huge resources of equipment and men were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest gains of 1 July. German resistance was tenacious throughout the battle however, and fierce struggles broke out for every village, copse and fortified farmhouse.
Despite being a first-day objective, Thiepval was not captured until the end of September, and attacks north and east continued throughout October and into November. When the Battle of the Somme finally petered out on 18 November 1916, Britain and its Commonwealth had suffered 419,654 casualties, including 95,675 dead.
The Memorial
The Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 1 August 1932 (originally scheduled for 16 May but due to the death of French President Doumer the ceremony was postponed until August). The dead of other Commonwealth countries, who lost their lives on the Somme and have no known graves, are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere.
Footballers commemorated at Thiepval
The following footballers are listed among the 73,367 names on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. This list is correct to the best of our knowledge, however, if you know of any individual that has been unintentionally omitted, please contact us here and we will update the list accordingly.
Surname | Name | Clubs | Date of Death | Regiment | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Barbour | John | Queen's Park Dundee Preston North End | 15/07/1916 | Highland Light Infantry | Pier and Face 15 C. |
Bardsley | Edwin | Glossop Stockport County | 18/11/1916 | Manchester Regiment | Pier and Face 13 A and 14 C. |
Beswick | Joseph | Stockport County | 14/07/1916 | King's (Liverpool Regiment) | Pier and Face 1 D 8 B and 8 C. |
Boyd | James | Heart of Midlothian | 03/08/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Christmas | Cecil | Southampton | 07/10/1916 | King's Royal Rifle Corps | Pier and Face 13 A and 13 B. |
Clifford | Thomas | Ayr Celtic Glossop Luton Town Motherwell Newton Heath Nottingham Forest | 19/01/1917 | Royal Scots Fusiliers | Pier and Face 3 C. |
Currie | Duncan | Heart of Midlothian | 01/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Donaghey | Bernard | Burnley Hibernian Manchester United | 01/07/1916 | Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers | Pier and Face 4 D and 5 B. |
Ellis | Ernest | Barnsley Heart of Midlothian Norwich City | 01/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 13 A and 14 C. |
Elmore | George | Blackpool Glossop Partick Thistle St. Mirren West Bromwich Albion | 01/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Evans | Arthur | Exeter City | 31/07/1916 | Royal Fusiliers | Pier and Face 8 C 9 A and 16 A. |
Ferguson | John | St. Bernard's Third Lanark | 23/10/1916 | Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) | Pier and Face 4 D. |
Gerrish | William | Aston Villa Bristol Rovers Preston North End | 08/08/1916 | Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) | Pier and Face 12 D and 13 B. |
Goodwill | Thomas | Newcastle United | 01/07/1916 | Northumberland Fusiliers | Pier and Face 10 B 11 B and 12 B. |
Gregory | Julius | Brighton & Hove Albion Bury Luton Town Manchester City | 20/07/1916 | Royal Fusiliers | Pier and Face 8 C 9 A and 16 A. |
Hagan | Patrick | Brentford Hibernian | 14/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Hughes | Thomas | Newcastle United | 01/07/1916 | Northumberland Fusiliers | Pier and Face 10 B 11 B and 12 B. |
Hulme | Arthur | Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Lincoln City | 03/10/1916 | Royal Sussex Regiment | Pier and Face 7 C. |
Izatt | David | Dunfermline Athletic | 01/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Jonas | William | Clapton Orient | 27/07/1916 | Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) | Pier and Face 12 D and 13 B. |
Kay | Alexander | Partick Thistle Sheffield United St. Bernard's | 15/02/1917 | Rifle Brigade | Pier and Face 16 B and 16 C. |
King | George | Burnley Millwall | 01/07/1916 | Northumberland Fusiliers | Pier and Face 10 B 11 B and 12 B. |
Linkson | Oscar | Manchester United Queens Park Rangers Shelbourne | 08/08/1916 | Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) | Pier and Face 12 D and 13 B. |
Lintott | Evelyn | Bradford City Leeds City Plymouth Argyle Queens Park Rangers | 01/07/1916 | West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own) | Pier and Face 2 A 2 C and 2 D. |
McGuire | Patrick | Manchester City | 12/10/1916 | Manchester Regiment | Pier and Face 13 A and 14 C. |
Pryce-Hamer | Thomas | Llanelly | 07/07/1916 | South Wales Borderers | Pier and Face 4 A. |
Purver | Henry | Brentford | 31/07/1916 | Royal Fusiliers | Pier and Face 8 C 9 A and 16 A. |
Robotham | Horace | Brentford Fulham Wolverhampton Wanderers | 12/09/1916 | Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) | Pier and Face 12 D & 13 B. |
Roose | Leigh | Arsenal Aston Villa Everton Huddersfield Town Stoke Sunderland | 07/10/1916 | Royal Fusiliers | Pier and Face 8 C 9 A and 16 A. |
Scott | James | Raith Rovers | 01/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Sharpley | William | Leicester Fosse | 01/07/1916 | Essex Regiment | Pier and Face 10 D. |
Stevenson | James | Bristol City Clyde Derby County Leicester Fosse Newcastle United | 03/07/1916 | Highland Light Infantry | Pier and Face 15 C. |
Taylor | John | Hull City Leith Athletic New Brompton | 15/09/1916 | Northumberland Fusiliers | Pier and Face 10 B 11 B and 12 B. |
Thompson | Ralph | Grimsby Town | 01/07/1916 | Lincolnshire Regiment | Pier and Face 1 C. |
Wattie | Henry | Heart of Midlothian | 01/07/1916 | Royal Scots | Pier and Face 6 D and 7 D. |
Wilson | Archibald | Middlesbrough Southend United Tottenham Hotspur | 01/07/1916 | London Regiment (London Scottish) | Pier and Face 9 C and 13 C. |
Wood | Norman | Chelsea Croydon Common Crystal Palace Plymouth Argyle Stockport County | 28/07/1916 | Duke of Cambridge’s Own (Middlesex Regiment) | Pier and Face 12 D and 13 B. |
Yuill | Jack | Manchester City Stockport County | 09/07/1916 | Manchester Regiment | Pier and Face 13 A and 14 C. |