Arras Memorial
Memorial to 35,942 missing soldiers of the Arras sector.
via Wikipedia: Arras Memorial · see source
The Arras Memorial, located in the Faubourg d'Amiens British Cemetery in the western part of Arras, France, is a World War I memorial that commemorates 35,942 soldiers of the forces of the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand, with no known grave, who died in the Arras sector between the spring of 1916 and 7 August 1918. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial includes sculpture by Sir William Reid Dick. It was unveiled by Lord Trenchard on 31 July 1932.
Lord Trenchard had served as the commander of Royal Flying Corps in France from 1915 to 1917, and in 1918 briefly served as the first Chief of the Air Staff before taking up command of the Independent Air Force in France. Also present at the unveiling ceremony was Richard Bell-Davies, British First World War fighter pilot and Royal Navy officer, and recipient of the Victoria Cross. The adjacent Arras Flying Services Memorial commemorates 991 airmen with no known grave.
Quick Facts
- Country
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- Commemorates
- forces of the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand
- Unveiled
- 31 July 1932
- Designer
- Sir Edwin Lutyens (architect); Sir William Reid Dick (sculptor)
- Source
- 82700
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The cut-off date of 7 August 1918 marks the start of the Advance to Victory; casualties after that date are listed on other memorials.
- Canadian and Australian missing dead are not listed here—they are instead at the Vimy Memorial and the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
- A total of 13 recipients of the Victoria Cross are commemorated on the Arras Memorial or the Arras Flying Services Memorial.
More in Funerary and Memory Sites of the First World War
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