From the 9th to the 16th centuries, the people of Albert,
like many in the region, got used to hiding underground to avoid attacks from the invaders
from Normandy and then Spain.
During the First World War Albert became a British garnison
town.
It was from Albert that the doomed offensive on July 1st 1916 was launched. Later in 1918, at the time of the Ludendorff offensive , most of the town was be destroyed before it was retaken by the British. Only the Post Office remained standing. (Note the red arrow).
This is all that remained of Albert, around the ruins of the basilica.
There followed an era of reconstruction and the building of new industries. In 1922, Henry Potez built his aircraft factory which became the top one in Europe by 1936 and which led to the foundation of the the successful AIRBUS industry
At the approach to the Second World War, to protect the civilian population and prevent a mass exodus, the mayor decided to build seven underground shelters. It is in the largest of these shelters (250 metres in length, running from the Basilica to the Public Park) that the Somme Trench Museum/Somme 1916 is situated. The long corridor and the alcoves provide an authentic representation of life in the trenches.
At the end of 1991, under the guidance of the
Municipality, the idea to create a museum in remembrance of the soldiers of
1914-1918 took shape.
Thierry Gourlin investigated the
possibility of using the shelters and drew up plans for their use.
The museum
opened its doors on the 1st of July 1992 and that year had 10,000 visitors. That number
passed the 37,000 mark in 2003, 60% of whom were British.
Each year the museum acquires new artifacts and upgrades its
displays during the winter break.
In another age, it was in Ancre (present day Albert) that Lahire, companion to Joan of Arc was imprisoned. It was Joan who said, offering a naive prayer to God:'Lord , may you do for Lahire at this moment in time what he would do for you, were you in his position.'
all that remains of his dungeon is visible in the Museum.