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The 8th and 9th Battalions Devonshire Regiment came to France in 1915, and joined the 7th Division in time to take part in the Battle of Loos, September 1915. Following Loos they moved down to the Somme and took over the sector in front of Mametz. On 1st July 1916 they attacked the village, and on leaving the cover of their front line in Mansel Copse, came under withering German machine gun fire which caused many casualties. However, Mametz was taken, and following the action the survivors returned to bury their dead in an old trench within Mansel Copse. They erected a sign-board which read "The Devonshires Held This Trench - The Devonshires Hold It Still". This site became Devonshire Cemetery, and the memorial was finally replaced in 1986, when it was unveiled by the Duke of Kent. This modern memorial bears that famous legened and is located close to cemetery entrance.
