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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
the Christmas - New Year closure)
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Events
No events have been advised for the autumn
A meeting of the Franco-British Advisory Committee was held on
Friday 16th October 2009
(see below)*
the 2010 meeting will take place at Thiepval on Wednesday 22nd
September
There are always
exhibitions at the
Historial de la Grande Guerre in
Péronne
Historial de la
Grande Guerre
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Advance notice for 2012
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As part of the close collaboration with the Thiepval visitor centre, the
Péronne Historial de la Grande Guerre will host a major
exhibition in 2012 based on the Thiepval
"Missing of the Somme " of Pam and Ken Linge.
2012 sees the 80th anniversary of the official opening of the Thiepval
Memorial and the 20th anniversary of the opening of the
Historial museum.
The theme of the exhibition
will be remembrance, as well as providing some background to
the Memorial and how these men became, and remain, the
“Missing.”
The major part of the
exhibition will tell the story of an individual recorded as
missing on each of the 141 days of the Somme battle.
The stories will be
supplemented by personal objects as well as others which
illustrate a general remembrance theme.
The exhibition, which
is free, will run from June to November 2012, more
details will be posted in due course.
--
Pam and Ken Linge now have 7,250
details of the individual Missing on the Thiepval memorial.
These and all new additions may be viewed on the terminals
at the visitor centre .
If you
have information on any 'missing' man, please contact the
Linges.
Their
address is:- Drystones, Heugh House Lane,
Haydon Bridge NE47 6HJ
pam_ken.linge@btinternet.com
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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.
New computer terminals
New computer terminals have been installed by the
Conseil Général and the CWGC website
is now accessible on line. Local Broadband speed is under 1 Mbps, so
it can be a bit slow,
but the system is still settling down and is a great improvement
over the former 2004 CD
used until now.
The Royal British Legion Thiepval Education Officer
The Royal British Legion representative
at the Thiepval centre had to resign for family reasons
some time ago. His replacement or an alternative RBL
presence on the Somme is still under review.
As a result of this the Royal British Legion - HRH The
Queen Mother Somme scholarship was not awarded in 2009 or in 2010.
There is as yet no news as to whether the planned third
year award will take place.
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
Guillaume de Fonclare is Director of the Historial
de la Grande Guerre. He is working to improve and
coordinate the facilities for visitors throughout the Somme
battlefields.
*Completion of the work of the Charity
On 1st 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
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le Président du
Conseil général |
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le Vice-Président
chargé de la Culture |
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le Conseiller général
délégué au Tourisme de mémoire |
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le Conseiller général
du canton d’Albert |
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le Directeur général
des services du Conceil général et ses collaborateurs concernés |
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le Directeur du
C.D.T. de la Somme |
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le Directeur de
l’Historial de la Grande Guerre |
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The British Consul General, Lille |
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The Director, France, Commonwealth
War Graves Commission |
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The Head of Remembrance Travel,
Royal British Legion |
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The Chairman, The Thiepval
Project |
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The Military Attaché, British
Embassy, Paris |
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The Director, Imperial War
Museum |
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The Lutyens Trust |
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The Charles Skey Trust |
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Interreg IIIA |
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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
The Digger history site
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
Entrance to the Visitor Centre is free.
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