Bancourt British Cemetery

About

Bancourt British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Pas de Calais region of France, on the Western Front.

History: The village of Bancourt is to the east of Bapaume, the scene of fighting in April 1918, during the German spring offensive, which saw it captured by the Germans. It was retaken by soldiers of the New Zealand Division in late August 1918 during the Second Battle of Bapaume.

Foundation: The cemetery was established in September 1918 by the New Zealand Division and initially covered the area that is now defined as Plot I, rows A and B. It was expanded after the war as it received the memories from other cemeteries in the area as they were consolidated here. These consolidated cemeteries included Bapaume Reservoir German Cemetery, Bapaume Road Cemetery, three cemeteries from along the Beaulencourt Road and Cloudy Trench Cemetery. Most of the interests were for soldiers killed during the fighting in the area in April 1918 when the Germans launched their Spring Offensive, and then August–September 1918, during the Hundred Days Offensive. However, it also contains digital graves of men killed...