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Origin and history

La Boisselle Mine Hole, also known as Lochnagar Crater, is a major memorial to the Battle of the Somme during World War I. Located 600 metres southeast of the village of La Boisselle, on the town of Ovillers-la-Boisselle, it results from the explosion of a mine dug by the British Royal Engineer tunnelling companies. Approximately 35 tons of explosives were used, creating a crater 90 metres in diameter and 22 metres in depth today. This site, unique in its state of conservation, is accessible to the public and has been listed as a historic monument since 1998.

The explosion of 1 July 1916 at 7:28 a.m., triggered by Welsh miners from 9th Cheshires, marked the beginning of the Franco-British offensive of the Somme. The detonation projected a column of earth at a height of 1,300 metres, forming a funnel 100 metres in diameter and 30 metres in depth, immediately occupied by British troops. Another mine, Y Sap, exploded simultaneously across the road leading to Bapaume. This sap work, prepared for months, aimed to weaken German defences before the assault.

Lochnagar became a place of recollection and housed a stele dedicated to Private Tom Easton (Tyneside Scottish), as well as a cross marking the location where in 1998 the remains of Private George Nugent disappeared on 1 July 1916. His remains were buried in the necropolis of the Commonwealth of Ovillers in 2000 in the presence of his family. Today, the crater, owned by a Britishman named Richard Dunning, is being eroded; its internal access is prohibited for security reasons.

Each year, July 1 at 7:28 a.m., a ceremony commemorates the beginning of the Battle of the Somme on this site. In 2016, for the centennial, the Secretary of State for Veterans Jean-Marc Todeschini attended. The crater is also mentioned in popular culture, as in the series Peaky Blinders, where the character Thomas Shelby, veteran of the Somme, mentions his role in his creation.

Ranked a historic monument by order of 13 August 1998 (after a first inscription in 1997), Lochnagar is the only mine crater of the Somme as well preserved and open to the public. A wooden memorial cross marks the entrance to the site, recalling its status as a symbol of the sacrifices of the Great War.

Collection

Lochnagar est devenu un véritable lieu de recueillement. C'est le seul cratère de mine à être aussi bien conservé dans la Somme et surtout le seul à être accessible au public.

Chaque 1er juillet à 7 h 30, c'est au trou de mine de La Boisselle que débutent les cérémonies de commémoration de la Bataille de la Somme.

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