Near where I work there is an ‘Arras Avenue’ and that got me wondering about how many other First World War-related street names there are in the country. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, the answer is, lots! According to www.streetmap.co.uk there are at least ten other roads with ‘Arras’ in their name. Place names and battles are quite prevalent; some of the others I found include:

Aisne – 6
Cambrai – 7
Delville – 5
Flers – 2
Gallipoli – 2
Jutland – 23
Kemmel – 3
Marne – 23
Menin – 9
Messines – 2
Mons – 22
Somme – 6
Verdun – 16
Vimy – 9 (including two ‘Vimy Ridge’)
Ypres – 6

There are also:

Anzac – 5
Cavell – 36
Sopwith – 21

Unsurprisingly the commanders and generals also feature heavily:

Allenby – 49
Birdwood – 12
Byng – 22
Cavan – 11
Charteris – 11
Chetwode – 18
Currie – 13
Gough – 35
Haig – 81
Jellicoe – 36
Joffre – 2
Kitchener – 69
Plumer – 8
Rawlinson – 23
Smith Dorrien – 1
Trenchard – 51

Perhaps the award for the most WW1-related names goes to Broadstone in Poole, which has an Allenby Road, Cavan Crescent, Chetwode Way, French Road, Gough Crescent, Kitchener Crescent , Milne Road, and Plumer Road among others – but interestingly no Haig.

The numbers may be indicative of public opinion towards the generals after the war; it would also be interesting to know how many relate to areas where ‘homes for heroes’ were built. I am sure there are also many more out there – VC winners, war poets, regiments etc. So look out for one next time you are out and about!