Finding a Relative's Grave on the Somme Battlefields

Is a guided day worth it for a family search?

Yes, if it is private. The cemeteries are spread across the whole front, and a guide who knows them saves you the hours of finding one. More to the point, a private guide can research the soldier's unit before the day and put his grave, and the ground where he fought, on the route. Travellers on private days have stood at a great-uncle's grave and near the field where he died, or had a whole day built round where a great-grandfather served.

A shared day cannot promise that. It follows a fixed route for up to eight people. If you are weighing up a Somme Battlefields reservation, book the kind of day that bends.

The records to search first

Do this at home, weeks ahead. It turns a vague hope into a place on a map.

1. The CWGC's Find War Dead. It holds the records of the 1.7 million Commonwealth men and women the Commission commemorates. Search by name, service number, regiment, cemetery or memorial, or the country he served with, and tick the First World War box.
2. The Canadian Virtual War Memorial. For a Canadian or a Newfoundlander, Veterans Affairs Canada keeps a registry of more than 118,000 who died in uniform. You can filter for records that carry a photograph.
3. Your own family papers. Letters or a death notice may give the battalion and the date, which narrows the search to one sector of the front.

If the record shows a memorial rather than a cemetery, he has no known grave. On the Somme that often means the Thiepval Memorial, which names more than 72,000 men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died there before 20 March 1918. For Newfoundlanders it may be the 820 names at the caribou at Beaumont-Hamel.

What to bring

• The CWGC record, printed. The cemetery or memorial it names is the address your guide drives to.
• His service number and unit. Common names repeat; the number does not.
• A photograph of him, if the family has one.
• Anything you want to leave. A card, a photo or flowers at the headstone.
• Boots and a coat. The day is outdoors, and the grass can be wet.

Which day to book

Choose by where you are staying, then by how much of the day the search needs.

The private Australian day from Amiens and the private half day from Albert both take a relative's details ahead; travellers on the half day have had it planned round soldiers they were searching for. The private day from Arras and the private full day from Arras or Albert have been built round a family's own soldier, and the private day from your Paris hotel has detoured to a great-uncle's grave. Days from Amiens are on Somme battlefield tours from Amiens.

How the guide plans the day

Send the name, number, unit and date of death with your booking. The guide finds the grave, then the ground the unit held on that date, and fits both round the main memorials. You will usually still see Thiepval, Lochnagar Crater and Beaumont-Hamel; the grave becomes the stop that is yours alone.

Give the grave time. Many families want a quiet quarter of an hour there, and some want to walk to the field beyond. Tell the guide what you want at the grave and they will plan the day round it.

When to plan a family visit

Some dates carry more meaning, and some close the ground you came for. Check yours against the list before you fix the trip.

• 25 April, Anzac Day. The Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux starts at 5:30 am. In 2026 the site opened at 2:30 am and you needed a pass to attend.
• 1 July, the anniversary. Lochnagar holds its ceremony at 7:28 am. In 2026 Beaumont-Hamel was closed that day to all but registered guests, so a Newfoundland family should check the year's notice first.
• 11 November. Lochnagar holds a ceremony at noon.
• Winter. The Canadian visitor centres close from mid-December to early February, and the Thiepval Museum from 6 December to 17 January. The cemeteries and memorials stay open all year.

The dated list, with the year ahead, is on what's on at the Somme battlefields.

If he has no known grave

A name on a memorial is still a place to stand. At Thiepval, give the guide the regiment and they can help you find his name among the 72,000. At Beaumont-Hamel the Newfoundland names are on bronze tablets at the foot of the caribou. Many families pair the memorial with the ground where the unit fought, so the day still ends somewhere that was his. The background to each site is on things to do on the Somme battlefields, and what happened on each date is on the history of the Somme battlefields.

Where these facts come from

Every hour, fee and date here comes from the body that runs the site. Hours move with the season, so check yours before you travel.

• CWGC: Find War Dead
• Veterans Affairs Canada: the Canadian Virtual War Memorial
• CWGC: Thiepval Memorial
• Veterans Affairs Canada: Beaumont-Hamel fast facts

Private days that plan round your soldier

Private Tour of the WW1 Somme Battlefields from Arras

A private day from opposite Arras station at 9 am: Beaumont-Hamel, Thiepval, the Gibraltar bunker, an hour and a half in the Musée Somme 1916, then the Monash Centre, with entry in the fare.

From $324 per person

Check Availability

Private Full Day Tour of the Somme Battlefields

A private day for up to three from Arras or Albert station at 9 am: Beaumont-Hamel, Thiepval, Lochnagar, the Sunken Lane, the German cemetery at Fricourt and an hour at Delville Wood.

From $521 per group, up to 3

Check Availability