New museum to open at Thiepval memorial site in France

In June, a new museum will open at the Thiepval memorial site in France, in preparation for the Battle of the Somme centenary commemorations in July.

The museum will be an extension of the Thiepval Memorial Visitor Centre and will spread for 400 square meters, most of which will be underground.

The new space will feature multimedia devices to showcase the history of the impact of the Battle of the Somme on the battlefields surrounding Thiepval.

There will be an animated map presenting the impact of fighting on the territory, accounts and testimonies from missing soldiers and a display of items left behind from the war.

These items were discovered during the construction process of the museum.

The new museum will also will feature interactive technology to tell the story of the fallen from the war, including the Germans who fought in it.

A Chapel to the Missing will also be available to view dedicated to the soldiers whose names adorn the Thiepval Monument – of which there are 72,194.

A scale replica of a Great War combat airplane will also be on show in a Heroic Figures room. Here, biographies of heroes of all nationalities will be presented.

The opening will be in time for the centenary commemorations of the Battle of the Somme, which took place on 1st July 1916.

It is considered to be the bloodiest day in history for the British Army, and has gone on to become a symbol of World War One in Great Britain.

The Thiepval Anglo-French monument is one of the main memorial sites in the Somme region and is the repository of over 72,000 names of missing soldiers who have no known grave.

For more information visit www.historial.org.