LOCHNAGAR CRATER - LIMPET PIT
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This enormous 21-meter-deep blast hole, the result of British explosives, is now a place of remembrance.
This enormous mine hole, 91 meters in diameter and 21 meters deep, is the most impressive scar left in the Albert sector during the Battle of the Somme. The crater is the result of the British firing 25 tons of explosives, buried 16 meters deep, to break the German front line. The explosion occurred on July1, 1916, the day the Battle of the Somme began. The number of casualties during this operation and the fighting that followed was significant but remains unknown as many bodies were never found, most having been buried by the explosion. The large wooden cross near the lip of the crater was erected in 1986. It was made from the framework of a disused church near the town of Durham (England), which was most likely used by some of the British soldiers who fell at Lochnagar Crater. The crater is since 1978 the private property of an Englishman, Richard Dunning, who, with his association, preserves the memory of the place. A remembrance ceremony is organized on the site every year on July1st (at 7:28 am, the time of the explosion) and on November 11th. If the site is free of charge, please make sure that children do not cross the security fence and fall into the hole, for security reasons. In any case, don't hesitate to make the detour: the place is worth it!
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