Le Hamel, Somme

Le Hamel (French pronunciation: [lə amɛl]) is a commune in the Somme department and Hauts-de-France region of northern France.

Le Hamel
Commune
The church in Le Hamel
Coat of arms
Location of Le Hamel
Le Hamel Le Hamel
Coordinates: 49°53′00″N 2°34′00″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Somme
Arrondissement	Amiens
Canton	Corbie
Intercommunality	Val de Somme
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Stéphane Chevin
Area 1	9.12 km2 (3.52 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	484
• Density	53/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	80411 /80800
Elevation	28–101 m (92–331 ft) (avg. 83 m or 272 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Le Hamel is situated some 20 km east of Amiens in the valley of the Somme. The surrounding district is the historical Santerre, a lightly wooded and agricultural plateau.

History

The settlement is first documented in 1184 as belonging to the powerful abbey of Corbie. The name has the same root as hameau ("hamlet"), a small rural settlement.

The town and surrounding countryside was the scene of the Battle of Hamel on 4 July 1918, during World War I. The battle, despite being small in scale, is notable for being the first instance in which combined arms tactics were used in warfare.

Places of interest

• A park commemorating the 1000+ Australian troops who died in the Battle of Hamel was inaugurated on 4 July 1998, exactly 80 years after the date of the event. The site symbolises the friendship between France and Australia.
• The lakes of the Somme valley.

• 
  The village hall
• 
  The main street

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 595 —     1800 622 +0.64% 1806 736 +2.84% 1821 842 +0.90% 1831 960 +1.32% 1836 1,017 +1.16% 1841 1,063 +0.89% 1846 1,108 +0.83% 1851 1,256 +2.54% 1856 1,146 −1.82% 1861 1,112 −0.60% 1866 1,070 −0.77% 1872 993 −1.24% 1876 961 −0.82% 1881 949 −0.25% 1886 911 −0.81% 1891 927 +0.35% 1896 844 −1.86%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 869 +0.59% 1906 799 −1.67% 1911 621 −4.92% 1921 386 −4.64% 1926 484 +4.63% 1931 526 +1.68% 1936 466 −2.39% 1946 453 −0.28% 1954 495 +1.11% 1962 448 −1.24% 1968 472 +0.87% 1975 469 −0.09% 1982 451 −0.56% 1990 489 +1.02% 1999 519 +0.66% 2007 521 +0.05% 2012 515 −0.23% 2017 501 −0.55%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

See also

• Communes of the Somme department
• Battle of Le Hamel

External links

• Le Hamel
• Santerre 14-18 : World War I in the Santerre