Adanac Military Cemetery
Adanac Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of World War I located near the French villages of Miraumont, Pys and Courcelette. The cemetery was formed after the war ended from the consolidation of existing burial sites, primarily the graves from the Canadian battlefields around Courcelette. The name is a reversal of "Canada".
| Adanac Military Cemetery, Miraumont | |
|---|---|
| Commonwealth War Graves Commission | |
| Used for those deceased 1914-1918 | |
| Location | 50°4′27″N 2°44′40″E near Courcelette, France |
| Total burials | 3186 |
Unknowns | 1708 |
| Commemorated | 13 |
| Statistics source: Cemetery details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission. | |
History
The British occupied the nearby villages of Miraumont and Pys on 24-25 February 1917 after the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line. The Germans reoccupied the area on 25 March 1918 at the beginning of the Spring Offensive until the British recaptured it on 24 August 1918 during the Second Battle of the Somme.
Sir Herbert Baker designed the cemetery. It contains the burials from the Canadian battlefields around Courcelette and the relocated graves from smaller cemeteries surrounding Miraumont, including:
- Pys British Cemetery [22 Canadian soldiers, 2 from the United Kingdom, 5 unknown]
- Pys New British Cemetery [35 war dead from the United Kingdom, 1 from New Zealand]
- Aqueduct Road Cemetery [11 soldiers from the United Kingdom]
- New Zealand Cemetery, Grevillers [19 soldiers from New Zealand]. Among the dead buried from this cemetery is Samuel Forsyth, a Victoria Cross recipient.
- Shrine Cemetery, Grevillers [13 soldiers from New Zealand, 2 from the United Kingdom]