The Underground City of Naours is an ancient maze of tunnels below the village of Naours to the north of Amiens. The caves were originally excavated in the 3rd century by peasants in the limestone subsoil of Picardy and have been used as a refuge over centuries of conflicts.

In the first world war Naours was used as a training camp by the British Army and is also close to Vignacourt which was a busy staging area for the Somme battlefields and where many soldiers took leave.

The caves became a popular recreational area for soldiers who were back from the front lines and many inscribed their names on the cave walls, including soldiers from Manchester. 

The soldier signatures were discovered in 2014, thanks to the research of archaeologist Gilles Prilaux. A total of 3,200 signatures have been catalogued, making this the largest known concentration of Great War graffiti.

Working with the Chargée événementiel & mémoire at Naours some of the soldiers from Manchester have been identified.