Le Hamel, Somme

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 49°52′60″N 2°34′00″E / 49.8833, 2.5667

Commune of Le Hamel
Location
Administration
Country	France
Region	Picardie
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Péronne
Canton	Canton de Corbie
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes du Val de Somme
Mayor	M. Stéphane Chevin (2001-2008)
Statistics
Elevation	28 m–101 m (avg. 83 m)
Land area¹	9,12 km²
Population² (1999)	519
- Density	56/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	80411/ 80800
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Le Hamel is a commune in the Somme département in the Picardie region of France.

Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Places of interest 4 Population 5 See also 6 External links 7 Notes

[edit] Geography

Situated some 16 miles east of Amiens in the valley of the Somme. The surrounding district is the historical Santerre, a lightly-wooded and agricultural plateau.

[edit] History

The name has the same root as ‘hameau’ (eng:hamlet), a small rural settlement
Mentioned for the first time in 1184 as belonging to the powerful abbey of Corbie.
As with many towns in the region, Le Hamel has experienced the ravages of war over many centuries, between the French kings and their adversaries from England, Burgundy and Spain.
A pivotal place during the First World War, the battle of Hamel on the 4th July 1918 was a prelude to the summer offensive of the 8th August later the same year.

[edit] Places of interest

• The park commemorating the 1000+ Australian troops that died in the battle was inaugurated on the 4th July 1998, exactly 80 years after the day of the battle. The site symbolises the friendship between France and Australia.
• The lakes of the valley of the Somme.

The Mairie

Main Street

Church tower

[edit] Population

Population Growth

1794	1800	1831	1851	1876	1901	1921	1936	1946	1956	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
595	622	960	1256	961	869	386	466	453	495	448	472	469	451	489	519
Census count starting from 1962 : Population without double counting

Sources : ^{[1] [2]}

[edit] See also

Communes of the Somme department
Battle of Le Hamel

[edit] External links

• Le Hamel
• Santerre 14-18 : World War I in the Santerre
• Le Hamel on the Insee website (French)
• Le Hamel on the Quid website (French)

[edit] Notes

• This article is based on the equivalent article from the French Wikipedia, consulted on February 20th 2008.