Thiepval Memorial Visitor Centre to expand with new museum in June

This June, a new museum with links to the new History curriculum will open at the Thiepval Memorial Visitor Centre in France.

The museum will be a 400 square metre extension to the visitor centre, with most of the museum being underground.

The Thiepval Memorial Visitor Centre already welcomes 200,000 visitors each year. It is one of the main memorial sites in the Somme region and is the repository of over 72,000 names of missing soldiers, from The Battle of the Somme, who have no known grave.

The new space will feature multimedia devices to tell the story of the Battle of the Somme, which took place on battlefields surrounding Thiepval, and the impact the fighting had on the territory.

Visiting schools can learn about the loss of men during World War One by exploring the Battles of the Somme; Mourning and Missing exhibition.

There will also be items on display which were left behind from the war, having been discovered during the construction process of the museum.

Additionally, children will be able to discover a real scale replica of a Great War combat airplane, which will be centred in the Heroic Figures room.

On site is also the Thiepval Database Project, which is a panel of 600 photographs.

Visiting schools

The visit will tie into the new history curriculum for 11 to 14 year olds, which covers World War One.

A visit to the memorial site can also include the viewing of three short films covering the subjects of Thiepval, The Battle of the Somme and Memory.

Although there is no guided tour for school visits at the museum, teachers will find educational packs available to download on the official website.

For more information visit www.historial.org.