The best cycling routes around Héninel

This small farming village has a rich history and is known for its two Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries from the First World War. The village has a church, a castle, and a range of amenities including bars, a supermarket, a chemist and a post office. Many residents commute to nearby towns such as Arras and Bapaume for work.

The 21st Division captured Héninel on 12 April 1917 and advanced eastwards on the two following days. The 33rd Division then took over the attack. These two divisions are largely represented in the cemetery. In April 1918 this ground was lost, and the eleven German graves in Plot I, Rows D and E, were made when the cemetery was in German hands. After the Armistice, graves were brought in from a wide area round Héninel. The cemetery now contains 307 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 104 of them unidentified. The cemetery was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Wancourt was captured on 12 April 1917 after very heavy fighting and the advance was continued on the following days. The cemetery, called at first Cojeul Valley Cemetery, or River Road Cemetery, was opened about ten days later; it was used until October 1918, but was in German hands from March 1918 until 26 August, when the Canadian Corps recaptured Wancourt. At the Armistice, the cemetery contained 410 graves, but was very greatly increased in the following years when graves were brought in from a number of small cemeteries and isolated positions on the battlefields south-east of Arras. The cemetery now contains 1936 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 829 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 76 casualties known or believed to be buried among them, and to 20 who were buried in Signal Trench Cemetery whose graves were destroyed in later battles.

Bapaume was one of the war objectives in the Battle of the Somme. In 1916, Bapaume was one of the towns considered by the Allies as strategic objectives in the Battle of the Somme. Bapaume was occupied by the Germans on 26 September 1914 and then by the British on 17 March 1917. The town hall was destroyed on 25 March by a delayed action mine left by the Germans, killing 24 people, including Australian soldiers and two French MPs. On 24 March 1918, the Germans retook the town. In 1918, the Second Battle of Bapaume, from 21 August to 3 September, was part of the second phase of the Battle of Amiens, the British and Commonwealth attack that marked the turning point in the First World War on the Western Front and the beginning of the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. Improved armoured support and artillery bombardments weakened once impregnable positions and helped Allied troops to blow holes in trenches. On 29 August, after heavy fighting, the New Zealand Division occupied Bapaume, having broken through the very strong trench system at Le Transloy-Loupart with the British 5th Infantry Division and taken many other strong points around the border.

Favreuil is a village 23 km south of Arras. The church of St. Georges, rebuilt with most of the commune, after the First World War. There is also a cemetery of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. And there is a war memorial in memory of the victims of the First World War, called Monument à Favreuil. The monument is located on the Place de la Mairie in Favreuil and was erected in 1925

Mory Street Military Cemetery is a British military cemetery located in Saint-Léger, Pas-de-Calais. The cemetery was laid out in 1917 and designed by William Cowlishaw. It commemorates 66 First World War soldiers, 5 of whom are unidentified. The cemetery has a square plan with a semi-circular projection containing the Cross of Sacrifice.

Places of Interest The church of St.Leger, rebuilt, as was the whole village, after the First World War. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery. The village was situated in an area that was heavily fought over during the war. There are several military cemeteries in the area, including the Heninel-Croisilles Road Cemetery, where many soldiers who fought near Saint-Léger are buried. An interesting anecdote is that Saint-Léger and the surrounding villages changed hands several times during the war between the Allies and the German troops. This caused much destruction and suffering among the local population.

Reflection on the course for fallen tommies 💮