Musée commémoratif sud-africain du Bois Delville

Over het museum

In July 1916, the 1st South African Infantry Brigade fought at Bois de Delville, near Longueval, in one of the most notable engagements of the Battle of the Somme. The wood became a symbol of South Africa's sacrifice and courage. The South African National Memorial, inaugurated in 1926, stands at the end of an oak-lined avenue.

Veterans and pilgrims had long regretted the lack of information on site, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission recommended equipping the site with visitor facilities. The decision to build a memorial museum followed. The foundation stone was laid on June 7, 1984; the museum was inaugurated on November 11, 1986 by South African president P. W. Botha. It was built around the Croix de la Consécration, to designs by the architect John Alan Wylie, and its architecture echoes that of the Castle of Good Hope at the Cape.

The museum honors some 25,000 South African volunteers, men and women of all origins, who died in both World Wars and in the Korean War. The new coat of arms of the Republic of South Africa was unveiled on its pediment in 2006, for the 90th anniversary of the battle; a memorial wall for all South African soldiers who died in World War I was added in 2016.

Hoogtepunten

• Museum built around the Croix de la Consécration
• Architecture inspired by the Castle of Good Hope at the Cape
• Tribute to some 25,000 South African volunteers who died in two World Wars and in Korea
• Memorial wall added in 2016
• Information center with a permanent exhibition on South African participation in World War I
• Bois de Delville, a site of memory and military cemetery

Vaste collectie

• Musée commémoratif sud-africain – Galleries devoted to the sacrifice of South African volunteers in both World Wars and in the Korean War.
• Centre d’information : la participation sud-africaine à la Première Guerre mondiale – Permanent exhibition on South Africa's role in World War I, notably the Native Labour Contingent, and on the creation of the memorial and museum.

Opgericht

1986

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

De toegang is gratis.

Free admission; donations are welcome (collection boxes at the information center and in the museum).

Toegankelijkheid

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Kinderen & gezin

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

The information center offers coffee, tea, cold drinks, cakes, books, postcards and bookmarks (11:00–13:00 and 14:00–17:00), as well as restrooms.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Je bezoek plannen