The Butte de Warlencourt Battlefield Cross
The Butte de Warlencourt is a chalk hill on the site of the First World War Battle of the Somme.
In November 1916, three wooden crosses were placed on the Butte in memory of the soldiers of the 6th, 8th and 9th Battalions Durham Light Infantry (DLI) who had fought there. Between 130 and 273 DLI men died, with 400 wounded and 300 missing.
History
About the Buttle of Warlencourt
- In World War I, during the Battle of the Somme, the Butte of Warlencourt in France became a much-contested point of high ground. Attempts to gain that higher ground ultimately took the lives of 273 members of the 6th, 8th and 9th Durham Light Infantry battalions.
- After the battle, survivors erected three wooden crosses in 1917 on top of the Butte to remember those who had died. In 1926 these crosses were taken and placed separately in local parish churches. The largest cross came here, to Durham Cathedral.
Interesting facts
- In autumn 1926 the crosses were brought home to the North East.
- The Brigade Cross, dedicated to the 151st Brigade (6, 8 and 9 DLI) was placed in the DLI’s Regimental Chapel at Durham Cathedral; the 6th Battalion’s cross was presented to the Parish Church of St Andrew, Bishop Auckland, and the 9th Battalion’s cross was placed in the Parish Church of St Mary and St Cuthbert, Chester-le-Street.
- In 2016, as part of the Cathedral’s First World War commemorations, and coinciding with the centenary of the Battle of the Somme, all three crosses were reunited here in the Cathedral. Together, they formed a powerful reminder of the bravery and humanity of the men who fought in the First World War.