Visit the imposing Thiepval memorial

What is the Thiepval Memorial?

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing is a monumental war memorial in northern France. It commemorates 73,000 British and South African soldiers who died in the Somme battlefields during the First World War without a known grave. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and inaugurated in 1932, the memorial dominates the surrounding landscape, and is accompanied by a museum and visitor centre. 

The Thiepval Memorial attracts thousands of visitors every year, and whether you have a family connection to a fallen soldier or not, to stand underneath its arches and read the names is a poignant experience. 

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing dominates the surrounding landscape

Where is the Thiepval Memorial?

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing is near the town of Arras and the city of Amiens in Hauts-de-France. It is a drive of around 1 hours 40 minutes from the LeShuttle terminal at Calais to the Thiepval Memorial. 

The original village of Thiepval was completely destroyed during the First World War, and is unusual in that it was not rebuilt after the fighting ended. The Memorial stands on the site of the former village. The hamlet now known as Thiepval sits a little to the north of the Memorial. 

What to expect at the WWI memorial

The Memorial to the Missing

“Here are recorded names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell

on the Somme battlefields July 1915 February 1918 but to whom the fortune of war

denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.” This is the central inscription of the Memorial to the Missing. 

Inscribed in the stone walls of the monument are over 73,000 individual names. Occasionally you will see a name has been erased – this is when a body of a missing soldier has been discovered and identified, reburied and given a funeral. 

In front of the memorial lies an Anglo-French cemetery, mainly for men whose bodies were discovered in the Somme area in the early 1930s, but who were still unknown. Those with stone crosses are French, and the British graves are signified by the rectangular headstones. 

The stone crosses of French graves in the Anglo-French cemetery at Thiepval

Thiepval Visitor Centre and Museum

The Museum and visitor centre was opened in 2016, to mark 100 years since the Battle of the Somme. It recounts the history of the First World War, the Battle of the Somme and the creation of the Thiepval Memorial. Through films, period items, photographs and contemporary reports, the background to the conflict and how it impacted the local area is movingly portrayed. The centerpiece of the museum is the 60m long panorama created by the artist Joe Sacco that tells the story of 1st July, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme – the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army. 

Visitors to the museum can search for ancestors using a computerised database, which holds details for over 11,000 of the soldiers whose names appear on the Memorial to the Missing.

Thiepval guided tours

A number of options for guided tours of the Museum and the Memorial are available. They include tours of the museum lasting up to 1 ½ hours, to full themed day experiences for larger groups. The Memorial is part of most Western Front battlefield tour itineraries, which also includes visiting sections of the Somme trench network.

Sections of the Somme trenches have been preserved

Practical information to plan your visit

Opening hours

The Thiepval  Memorial to the Missing is open 9.30am-6pm from 1 March-31 October, and 9.30am-5pm during the winter months. The Memorial, Visitor Centre and Museum are closed from mid-December to mid-January. 

Ticket prices

Entry to the museum and memorial costs €6 for adults, €3 for children, €4.50 for concessions. The museum and memorial is fully accessible for wheelchair users and those with assistance requirements. 

The Thiepval Memorial is open most of the year

How to get to the memorial

From the LeShuttle terminal at Calais, take the A26 towards Saint-Omer and Arras. It is a drive of around 1 hours 40 minutes to the Thiepval Memorial. Tolls are charged on this route. 

Bringing your dog to Thiepval Memorial

Dogs are allowed at the Thiepval Memorial, but must be kept on a lead, and any mess collected. Assistance dogs are welcome. 

Best time to visit the memorial

The busiest times to visit the Thiepval Memorial are during the summer months, especially around the time of the Somme anniversary (early July), Remembrance Day (mid-November) and any major commemorations. The Memorial is generally a place for quiet reflection, however, and is not overly crowded. Visiting in late Spring or early Autumn is possibly the best time, when the weather is still warm but there are fewer people than the peak summer period. 

Other nearby memorials and sites

The Thiepval Memorial is a stop on the ‘Remembrance Trail’, a 92 km route that runs between the towns of Albert and Péronne, and takes in memorials, museums, cemeteries and sites associated with the First World War. These include Historial de la Grande Guerre (the Museum of the Great War) in Péronne, the Lochnager Crater at La Boisselle, the Ulster Tower, the Newfoundland Memorial and the Australian National Memorial. There are also more than 400 cemeteries dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers in the Somme region. 

Over 400 Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries are located in the Somme region

Plan your visit to the Thiepval Memorial with LeShuttle

Whether you include it on a trip around Northern France or as part of a dedicated battlefield tour, visiting the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing is an unforgettable experience. It is just a 35-minute crossing from Folkestone to Calais with LeShuttle