Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial

Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Overview
Used for those deceased {{{use_dates}}}
Location	near  Longueval
Designed by	Herbert Baker
Total burials	1211
Unknowns	0

The Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial is a war memorial located in the commune of Longueval in the Somme department, within the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Details

The memorial stands at the eastern wall of the Commonwealth Caterpillar Valley Cemetery and was designed by Herbert Baker. It is constructed from natural stone and features ten white stone panels inscribed with the names of 1,205 missing New Zealand soldiers from the First World War. These soldiers were killed between August and October 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Due to the appalling conditions of the battlefield and the delay in clearing the area, these men were never recovered. The memorial and the cemetery are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

It is one of eight memorials on the Western Front that commemorate New Zealand's missing soldiers. All these memorials are located within existing cemeteries.

Decorated soldiers

• Captain Hubert Satchell Harley and Second Lieutenant Francis Clive Ramsden Upton, both of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F., and Lieutenant Edward Henry Turner Kibblewhite of the New Zealand Machine Gun Corps, were awarded the Military Cross (MC).
• Corporal Herbert Henry Yardley of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F., and Private James Whiteford Swan of the Wellington Regiment, N.Z.E.F., were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM).
• Second Lieutenant Richard Henry Kember and Private Hugh Anderson, both of the Canterbury Regiment, N.Z.E.F., were awarded the Military Medal (MM).

External links

• The War Graves Photographic Project (coordinates)
• CATERPILLAR VALLEY (NEW ZEALAND) MEMORIAL