Old Front Line
WW1 Podcast with Paul Reed
Walking The Somme: The Devonshire Cemetery
After the fighting at Mametz on 1st July 1916, the Devonshire Regiment buried their dead in an old disused trench among the trees of Mansel Copse. Here the ‘Devonshires Held This Trench, The Devonshires Hold It Still’. In this episode, we walk the ground at Mametz and discover the stories of three men: a poet who loved the countryside, a former spy who made a model of the battlefield, and a young man who had traveled the world.
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12 Comments on “Walking The Somme: The Devonshire Cemetery”
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Old Front Line 
Just thought I share with you that I researched all the men that lie in the Devonshire Cemetery and posted my findings on my website http://www.rtfoww1.co.uk.
Regards
Mike Abbott
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Thank you, Mike – a great resource!
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Grandfather was a worded the MM on the first day of the Somme with the 9th Devonshire Regement went over the top under the instruction of Sgt Paddon who was killed. Grandfather Copral Ernist Edwin John’s service no 3/7166
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Excellent start to series 3! We found shrapnel balls and other items by the shrine and it is well recommended to walk there to see the Germans eye view and how desperate an attack it must have been…RIP…..
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Thanks, Niall.
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I have visited the Devonshire cemetery on many occasions, as I’m a Devonshire lad. And served in the 1st Batallion the Devonshire and Dorset Regt, it a humbling place to visit.
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Quelle est la signification de la stèle qui comporte une croix sans aucune inscription ?
What is the significance of the stele which has a cross without any inscription?
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This indicates a ‘collective grave’ – men buried together in the same grave. So not individually.
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What a powerful Podcast Paul. The Devonshire Cemetary is one of the places that brings me to tears on every visit. Thank you for bringing some of those brave men to life for me.
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Thank you, Tanya. It is indeed a very powerful place to visit.
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A few years ago while on holiday in Devon I visited the small churchyard atTalaton. I was as most of us do looking for a name or a headstone. Literally as I was leaving I saw on the base of a headstone for 12 year old Rosie Ash- and of her brother Jack killed in action on 1st July 1916- on my next visit to the Somme battlefield I went to pay my respects to Jack who is buried in Devonshire Cemetery.
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How wonderful to find that.
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