Ulster Tower

The Ulster Tower, locally known as Tour d'Ulster, stands northwest of the hamlet of Thiepval, in the Somme department in France.

Although the Ulster Tower may look medieval, it is not. In fact, it is a Northern Ireland's national war memorial in France and commemorates the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division and all those from Ulster who served in the First World War. It was erected near the site of a former German strong point; the "Schwaben Redoubt", which was taken by Ulster servicemen on July 1st, 1916 but only with the cost of thousands of casualties.

The tower was built in 1921 and is a very close copy of Helen's Tower which stands in the grounds of the Clandeboye Estate, near Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Many of the men of the Ulster Division had been trained on the estate.

At present the Ulster Tower can be visited but sadly enough was closed due to corona measures when I came by. A beautiful building commemorating a gruesome war.

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