 The cemetery grounds were assigned to the British Empire in perpetuity by the French state in recognition of the sacrifices made by the Allies in the defence of France during the First World War.All but two of the graves in the cemetery are of men from the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Devonshire Regiment.The cemetery was established on 4 July 1916, employing a section of the old front line trench in Mansel Copse.