CWGC marks unveilings of the Arras and Thiepval Memorials

31 July and 1 August mark the anniversary of the unveiling of two of Commonwealth War Graves’ iconic memorials to the missing: The Arras and Thiepval Memorials.

In what must have been a very busy period for the then Imperial War Graves Commission, the two World War One memorials were opened within one day of each other in the summer of 1932.

Arras Memorial

The Arras Memorial was officially unveiled on 31 July 1932 at Fauborg D’Amiens War Cemetery, northern France.

The unveiling ceremonies were unveiled by Lord Trenchard. Lord Trenchard, known as the “Father of the Royal Air Force”, served as commander of the Royal Flying Corps between 1915-1917 and Chief of the Air Staff and Independent Air Force on the Western Front.

Also present at Arras Memorial Unveiling were Victoria Cross-winning naval aviator and commander Richard Bell Davies, Imperial War Graves Commission founder Sir Fabian Ware, and Monseigneur Henri-Édouard Dutoit, the Bishop of Arras.

The Arras Flying Services Memorial, dedicated to missing Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps, the Australian Flying Corps, and the Royal Air Force personnel, was unveiled alongside the Arras Memorial.

Thiepval Memorial

Following the Arras Memorial's inauguration, the unveiling ceremony of the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme took place on 1 August 1932.

Ceremonies at Thiepval were led by the then Prince of Wales, soon to be King Edward VIII and French President Albert Lebrun, the memorial’s designer and Imperial War Commission Principal Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, and thousands of spectators.

Other dignitaries in attendance included Lord Birkenhead, the then Secretary of State for India, and French Minister of Colonies Leon Perrier. Sir Fabian Ware was also present at the ceremony.

Together, the Arras and Thiepval Memorials commemorate over 100,000 missing Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War. 

Learn more about our war graves in Arras, France.