The village was captured by the 41st and New Zealand Divisions on the 15th September, 1916, in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette; this was the first occasion on which Tanks were brought into action. It was lost at the end of March, 1918, and recaptured on the following 27th August by the 10th West Yorks and the 6th Dorsets (17th Division)

The 41st Division Memorial, a bronze figure of a British soldier, stands in the village.

The Cemetery was begun on the 19th September, 1916, and was used by fighting units (mainly Australian) until March, 1917; these burials, 154 in number, now form Plot I. Plot II, Row A, graves 1-17 were added in September, 1918, by the 17th Division Burial Officer. The rest of the cemetery consists of graves (mainly September, 1916, or August, 1918) brought in after the Armistice from the fields between Flers and Longueval.

The Cemetery now contains the graves of 485 soldiers from the United Kingdom, 148 from Australia, 120 from New Zealand, and two whose unit in the forces is not known. The unnamed graves number 296; and special memorials are erected to eight soldiers from Australia, five from the United Kingdom and two from New Zealand, known or believed to be buried among them.

Number of burials by unit