The CAF
 Thiepval Project 
Fundraising now complete

VISITOR CENTRE

STOP  PRESS
9th January 2012

Events

 2012 is the 80th anniversary of the 1932
dedication of the Memorial.

There will be a special summer-long exhibition at the Historial museum in Péronne based on research now being done by Pam and Ken Linge who were responsible for the panel of the Missing in the Centre and  have around 8,500 names on their detailed data-base.

See Events

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Thiepval Visitor Centre
Opening hours
 

      0900 - 1700   1st November to 28th February
1000 - 1800   1st March to 31st October.

The Centre is open every day except for Christmas / New Year

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Events

Following the impressive
11   11   11   11
ceremony at the Memorial arranged by the
Somme Branch of the Royal British Legion
there are no events reported in the immediate future
until the MISSING OF THE SOMME exhibition
at the Historial.  See below.

        There are always interesting exhibitions at the
        Historial de la Grande Guerre in Péronne 
Historial de la Grande Guerre

Advance notice for 19th April

The 2011 annual meeting of the joint Franco-British Advisory Committee (see below)* was held on Friday 17th June .  It was Chaired by M. Christian Manable the Président of  the Conseil Général of the Somme.  It was a most successful meeting and many matters concerning the Visitor Centre and Franco-British interests on the Somme were fruitfully discussed.

Our thanks are due to all the very busy people from the Somme, the Imperial War Museum, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Lutyens Trust  who came to Thiepval to attend this meeting and to the Président of  the Conseil Général for hosting the lunch afterwards.

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The Centre
 

WiFi

A WiFi system has now been installed at the Centre so as to enable Tour Guides and our
other visitors to remain in contact with the outside world when they are in the building. 

Additional parking

The Conseil Général has recently created  additional car / bus parking spaces
for the benefit visitors as we come up to the centenary .  In the Spring the CWGC
gardeners will sow grass over this area.

New computer terminals

 New computer terminals were recently installed by the Conseil Général and the CWGC website
is now accessible on line.  The local Broadband speed is under 1 Mbps, so it can be a bit slow,
but the system is a great improvement on what we had before.

New air cooling system

A new air cooling system is due to be installed by the Conseil Général and it is hoped
that work on this will commence during the Christmas / New Year closure.
This should make all our visitors and  Vincent and his Staff  feel cooler
    on hot summer days.     

                                                                   
The  English-speaking members of staff, Vincent and Dawn are there to welcome you.  
They are also assisted by other 'Historial' staff.              Tel: 00333 2274 6047

The Centre manager is Vincent Laude   thiepval@historial.org

The Historial de la Grande Guerre (museum) of Péronne who manage the Centre on behalf of the Conseil Général de la Somme is a first class international museum and well worth a visit  by anyone interested in the Great War.    

www.historial.org

*Completion of the work of the Charity

On 1^st June 2006 the Thiepval Project handed over the last vestiges of their responsibility in respect of the new Visitor Centre to the Conseil Général de la Somme.

The Charity again took the opportunity of expressing their sincere appreciation for all that our French friends have done and will now continue to do in the creation and maintenance of a Visitor Centre at Thiepval.  

The British interest in the Centre has now devolved  upon a joint Franco-British Advisory Committee

LE CENTRE  D’ACCUEIL  ET  D’INTERPRÉTATION  DE  THIEPVAL
THE THIEPVAL VISITOR CENTRE

Membres du comité consultatif franco-britannique
 Members of the Franco-British advisory committee

New Thiepval church clock with the hours now rung on by a
mechanism donated by the Thiepval Project 

On 30th March 2008 as a retirement gift to her village, after many years as Mayor of Thiepval, Madame Geneviève Potié MBE donated a clock which has been placed in the empty space left for one when the new church was rebuilt in 1931.  To accompany this clock the Thiepval Project has arranged for the church bell to sound the hours.  It is also rung for five minutes at noon each day and should also ring for five minutes at 0730 on each 1st July.  This is one of the final uses of Project funds which are now virtually extinguished and it is hoped that the sounding of the bell will be associated with all the men who suffered and died in this area during the battles of the Somme.

The Thiepval Project once again wishes to thank Madame Potié for making the land available for the visitor centre and hopes that she will grace many more 1st July ceremonies with her presence and under a beautiful hat.

The new Mayor is Monsieur Max Potié.
 

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

In June 2006 the Conseil Général de la Somme awarded a contract to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to maintain the grounds around the Visitor Centre.  This news was welcomed by all concerned with the Thiepval Project.  Under their care the whole site is now maturing well.

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For those travelling to the Somme or planning visits to the Great War battlefields the following  websites may be of use:-

Historial de la Grande Guerre          Somme Battlefields         Somme-Tourism

Western Front Association

Somme Remembrance Association        RBL Somme Branch       Somme 1916  

   The Commonwealth War Graves Commission   

                    The Royal British Legion       The Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park     Delville Wood  

                   Bony USA cemetery, Somme        1914-18 Military cemeteries in Picardie         Australian_Memorials France   

.360° Cemetery Panoramas / France        Google map (with acknowledgements) 

HOW TO GET TO THE VISITOR CENTRE

Calais to Thiepval


 

Approximate mileage from the Channel Tunnel

0    From TUNNEL take A16 →  Calais / Lille / Reims / PARIS  until exit 18 

6    At / from CALAIS take A26 →  St Omer / Arras / Reims / PARIS 

25  Toll booth - payage    Take ticket      (Near St Omer)  

72  Go on past exit 17 (Arras) then branch on to A1→ Arras-Est / PARIS 

86  Leave A1 at exit 14 BAPAUME Toll € 9.60 . Take the By-pass → AMIENS  Albert 

87  Follow → AMIENS  Albert  After the 4th roundabout you will be on the D 929

88 LE SARS   Carry straight on through village

98 POZIÈRES,  turn right → Thiepval.  (It is signposted )

100 THIEPVAL, turn left for the Monument and Visitor Centre (follow the signposts)

Speed limits:  KM / MPH
autoroutes:130 / 80 if fine, 110 / 68 in rain, or if so marked.
On open road 90 / 55.  (not 60 as in UK)
In towns and villages 50 / 30.   (Beware - the town / village name sign counts as an automatic 50 / 30 limit sign.) 
Also 70 / 43  in certain marked places such as near cross roads on the D929

It is often easier to pay the autoroute toll by credit card (CB).   Put the ticket, then your card into the machine, or if the queue is not too long, just give the ticket and your card to the attendant. (Visa or Master Card).  They return your card instantaneously.

CALAIS to THIEPVAL should take you no more than 1h 30mins

By Train from Paris (Nord) it takes about two hours to Albert with a change at Amiens. Price in Jan. 2011 was about £22.  From Calais to Albert it takes about half and hour longer, price about £24 and a cab from Albert was not far off £20 each way.  It is possible to hire cars in Albert.

Entrance to the Visitor Centre is free.