Grave in Le Crotoy Communal Cemetery Western Somme of Sub- Lt Edwin Leopold Arthur Dyett Nelson Battn Royal Naval Division . Executed 5 Jan 1917 aged 21 for desertion. Headstone bears inscription “If doing well ye suffer this is acceptable with God” 1st Epis Peter. Dyett was serving in Nelson Battalion part of 189 Brigade Royal Naval Division. By October 1916 the high ground of Thiepval Ridge was in the hands of the British but the situation to the north remained unsatisfactory on both sides of the Ancre River with the Germans fixed and unyielding at Grandcourt and across the river at Beaucourt-sur-Ancre and up to Beaumont Hamel and Serre. 189th Infantry Brigade was to take part in the attack on enemy positions north of the Ancre River with Hawke and Hood Battalions in the front line and Nelson behind Hawke and Drake behind Hood. The attack commenced at 0515 am on 13th November 1916 with the 189th Brigade pressing towards the village of Beaucourt. At the insistence of the CO, Dyett had been left in reserve. At about noon when it became known that casualties in the Nelson Battalion were considerable Dyett and Lieutenant Truscott were ordered forward from Hedauville to Brigade Headquarters which were then in Charles Street trench between the villages of Mesnil and Hamel. There they were given orders to join the Battalion which had last been heard of in the Green Line, a trench on the Beaucourt side of Station Road. They arrived together at Beaucourt Station and met a number of men with a Sub- Lieutenant Herring. Herring was in charge of the ammunition supply at Hamel but he had come across a body of men retiring and he had ordered these men to go back towards the firing line and was then with them at Beaucourt Station. Lieutenant Truscott found 25 men of the Nelson Battalion of whom he took charge and marched them towards the Green Line. He left Dyett arguing with Herring. Sub-Lieutenant Herring ordered Dyett to follow in the rear but Dyett said there was such chaos that he thought he should go back and report to Brigade. Dyett followed Herring back to the ammunition dump at Hamel but he did not go back to Brigade Headquarters. By 4 pm on the 13th November Sub-Lieutenant Gardner was the only officer in the Nelson Battalion present in the front line and he reported to Colonel Freyberg of the Hood Battalion about 5pm and was instructed to dig in to extend the left flank. Shortly thereafter he was joined by Lieutenant Truscott with a party of men mostly from the Nelson Battalion and as he was the senior officer he took over command of the Battalion from Gardner. The Battalion remained in this position until 5 pm on the 14th November when they were moved to a position about 50 yards in the rear leaving that position at about 2 am on the 15th November when they were relieved. The Battalion then retired to the original German front line and remained there until 1015 am on the 15th November when the Battalion marched back to billets at Englebelmer arriving there between 1 pm and 2 pm. The first part of the Battalion arrived at about 1 pm on the 15th November with Lieutenant Dangerfield and almost the first person he saw was Dyett standing at the gate of billet 79 Battalion HQ. The second part of the Battalion arrived at about 2 pm. Lieutenant Colonel N O Burge the CO, and 9 sub-lieutenants were killed,9 other officers wounded of whom 2 including Gardner and Dangerfield remained on duty, 24 other ranks were killed, 195 wounded, 120 missing and 1 gassed. The Court Martial was on 26th December 1916 in a farmhouse in the village of Champneuf near the coast at Le Crotoy.  It was established that Dyett had not gone back to Brigade HQ and indeed had not been seen at all on the 14th November. and Dyett was convicted of desertion and sentenced to death but the Court Marital recommended mercy. The Divisional Commander Major-General C D Shute recommended that the sentence be commuted, but the commander of V Corps and General Gough the Army Commander both maintained that the sentence should stand and General Haig confirmed the sentence of death. He was shot at 7.30 am on Friday January 5th 1917 at St Firmin.

Graves in Le Crotoy Communal Cemetery of 2nd Lt Sydney Bolton Cragg RFC 9 Novr 1917, Able Seaman Seaman J. Jackson Hood Battn RND 12 Jany 1917, Sub Lt Dyett & Able Seaman Seaman J.V. Scanlon Nelson Battn RND 22 Decr 1916 .

Corbie Communal Cemetery, Somme. 9 miles E of Amiens N of town. 3rd Army taking over from Berles-au-Bois southwards to the Somme in 1915 made it a medical centre. Records 246 UK, 4 Ind & 15 German burials.

Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension Somme. E of Communal Cemetery. Begun in May 1916 & used during Somme advance in 1916 and again during the German offensive during 1918. Records 829 UK, 57 Aust., 26 S.A., 1 Bermuda, 1 German & 1 special memorial.

Grave in Corbie Communal Cemetery Extension of Major William La Touche . (Billy) Congreve, VC, DSO, MC Rifle Brigade. Son of Lt Gen Sir Walter Congreve VC, CB, MVO, commanding X111 Corps on the Somme at time of his son’s death. Shot by a sniper at Longueval at 1055 am 20th July 1916 whilst observing enemy activity. An extract from the London Gazette records “For most conspicuous bravery during a period of fourteen days preceding his death in action. This officer constantly performed acts of gallantry and showed the greatest devotion to duty, and by his personal example inspired all those around him with confidence at critical periods of the operations. During preliminary preparations for the attack he carried out personal reconnaissances of the enemy lines, taking out parties of officers and non-commissioned officers for over 1,000 yards in front of our line, in order to acquaint them with the ground. All these preparations were made under fire. Later, by night, Major Congreve conducted a battalion to its position of employment, afterwards returning to it to ascertain the situation after assault . He established himself in an exposed forward position from where he successfully observed the enemy, and gave orders necessary to drive them from their position. Two days later, when Brigade Headquarters was heavily shelled and many casualties resulted, he went out and assisted the medical officer to remove the wounded to places of safety, although he was himself suffering severely from gas and other shell effects. He again on a subsequent occasion showed supreme courage in tending wounded under heavy shell fire. He finally returned to the front line to ascertain the situation after an unsuccessful attack, and whilst in the act of writing his report, was shot and killed instantly.” Legion of Honour. Son of Lt-Gen Sir Walter Congreve VC KCB MVO and Lady Congreve of Chartley Castle Staffs, husband of Pamela Congreve of 15 St Annes Gate, London. Headstone bears inscription “In remembrance of my beloved husband and in glorious expectation.” This poignant message on the headstone is by his wife Pamela Maude who he married 1st June 1916 and in fact she was pregnant. She christened their daughter Gloria.

Chipilly Communal Cemetery Chipilly Somme. 7 miles S of Albert, on N slopes of R Some,N of village. Chipilly was captured after stubborn resistance by the 58th (Lond) Div 9th Aug 1918. Records 55 UK & 4 French burials.

Couin British Cemetery Pas de Calais. Used during the Battles of the Somme. Records 397 UK., 2 SA., 1 Can., and 1 Ind. Burials.

Grave in Couin British Cemetery of Brigadier-General Walter Long, CMG DSO. GOC 56th Brigade 19th Division. Killed by a hostile shell whilst inspecting the front line trenches near the junctions of “Yankee Street” and the “Red Line” in front of Hebuterne village 28th January 1917.

Grave in Couin British Cemetery of Lt. John Bernard Pye Adams 1st Battn Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Died of wounds 27th February 1917 received the previous day leading his men in an attack near Serre Somme aged 26. The advance of the battalion commenced at 4.45 p.m.  on the 26th Septemer 1917 and was largely an affair of patrols;  the enemy was there fighting a delaying action, but would not stand up to anything like a fully mounted attack.  The village of Puisiuex was entered, and the patrols passing rhough to the northern edge of it were held up.  2nd Lieutenant Montgomery was sent with 24 men to clear the church;  he lost most of his force and failed,the church being strongly held. Casualties were heavy, Captain A. W. Anscombe, Lieutenant J. R. B. Adams, 2nd Lieutenants C. H. Owen, C.E. Montgomery and A. M Syrett were wounded;  11 other ranks were killed, 22 wounded and 5 missing.Son of Harold and Georgina Adams from Kent. Graduate of St. John’s College Cambridge with a First Class in the Classical Tripos. Adams was the first and now the least remembered of a remarkable triumvirate of authors who served for a time simultaneously in the 1\R. Welsh Fusiliers. The second to join was 2nd Lieut. Siegfried Sassoon and the third arrival, a few days later, was Captn. Robert Graves. Adams was the first of these three to publish his memoirs of service with the 1st Battalion. “Nothing of Importance – a record of 8 months at the front with a Welsh Battalion October 1915 to June 1916” was written whilst convalescing in England having been wounded in June 1916. His was the only record to be published in book form whilst the war was still being fought. He returned to the front in January 1917 and was mortally wounded a month later.

Grave in Couin New British Cemetery, Pas de Calais of Reverend Donald Fraser DSO Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class. Killed in action 2nd June 1918 aged 42. Son of Alexander Fraser of Auchgate, Cannich, Beauly, Inverness-shire. Baptist Minister, Tamworth. Couin New British Cemetery faces the British Cemetery at Couin on Souastre road, used by Field Ambulances from January 1917 to the end of the war. Records 344 UK., 14 NZ., 2 Can. and 2 German burials.

Combles Communal Cemetery Extension Somme. 10 miles E of Albert and 8 miles S of Bapaume. Was begun by French troops in Oct. 1916 and enlarged after the Armistice. Records 1041 UK., 5 Can., 1 SA., and 13 special memorials.

Grave in Combles Communal Cemetery Extension of Corporal G. E. Pattinson who was killed on 15 September 1916. The cemetery register shows him to have been a member of “C” Company, Machine Gun Corps (Heavy Branch). In the Spring of 1916 tanks were first produced and as a subterfuge the organisation was so named: on the 28th July 1916 the Heavy Branch became by Royal Warrant the Tank Corps. However the tanks went into action on the 15th September as the Heavy Branch but whilst other tank men killed on 15 September have Machine Gun Corps badges on their headstones Corporal Pattinson has the Tank Corps badge, making this it is understood the earliest dated Tank Corps headstone. Headstone bears inscription “He taking death on himself, saved his comrades.” C14 “Corunna” was commanded by 2nd Lieutenant F J Arnold with a crew of 7. C14 was attached to the 56th (1st London Division) whose principal objective at the Battle of Flers-Courcelette was the village of Combles. C14 was to support 1st London Regiment in an attack on Bouleaux Wood to capture German held trenches in the wood itself and Sunken Road Trench on the north side of the road leading to Combles. C14 crossed No Man’s Land and in fact went far ahead of the infantry the tank was supposed to be supporting probably because of a very late amendment to his orders issued at 0425 that morning. C14 passed the wood “shooting at every living thing he saw” with the infantry some way behind when C14 ditched in a shell hole returning to assist the Londoners attacking Beef Trench near the wood and to beat off the German bombers. Lieutenant Arnold asked for volunteers to go out and try and dig the tank out and Corporal Pattinson with Gunners Williams, Winter and Bernard went out and after some minutes digging a stick grenade fell at Corporal Pattinson’s feet which he picked up and tried to throw it away but it exploded in his hands killing him and wounding Gunner Winter. This was certainly the incident which led to the inscription on the headstone.

Carnoy Military Cemetery, Somme. S of village. Begun in August 1915 by 2nd K.O.S.B. and 2nd K.O.Y.L.I. when village was immediately S of British front line. Records 828 UK., 5 NZ., 2 Can., 1 Aust., 1 SA., burials and 18 special memorials.

Graves in Carnoy Military Cemetery of Private Ernest W Harris 10 Lancashire Fusiliers and Driver Robert Murray 81 Brigade Royal Field Artillery executed side by side on 3rd February 1917 for Desertion. Private Harris was 20 and was serving under two suspended sentences, the later having been a sentence of death when after a third absence the extreme penalty was implemented. Driver Murray landed in France in September 1915 but in June/July after only 9 months service surprisingly was granted home leave. Following his return to 81 Brigade, Murray made off and travelled to the south of France taking up residence with a prostitute who following a quarrel reported him to the French Police!

Grave in Carnoy Military Cemetery of Corporal Alexander Stewart 6066 Guards Divisional Ammunition Column Royal Field Artillery died 24 January 1917. Visitors Book says he was shot at dawn but there is no evidence for this and indeed the authoritative Death Sentences passed by Military Courts of the British Army 1914 – 1924 by Gerard Oram which lists 3080 soldiers sentenced to death (of whom only a minority ie. 10% were in fact executed) has no entry for this soldier. Death recorded as Killed in Action.

Citadel New Military Cemetery, Fricourt, Somme. 2 miles S of Fricourt on road to Bray. Station for Field Ambulances before Battle of the Somme. But, when the fighting moved on in the second half of 1916, there was no village in the area to provide accommodation for troops going up to the line or returning from it so a large encampment – Citadel Camp – was made and became an important staging point in the 1916 battle. Only a few of the burials are after July 1916 and apparently it was the custom for some units returning from the battle to carry the bodies of their dead officers which could be recovered back to the camp and bury them in this cemetery. Fricourt village was captured July 2nd 1916 by 17th Division. Records 379 UK burials.

Grave in Citadel New Military of Brigadier-General Louis Murray Phillpotts Royal Field Artillery CMG DSO artillery commander of the 24th Division. Killed 8th September 1916. With Captain Crippen, Brigade-Major, was out reconnoitreing in Maltz Horn valley , Guillemont when killed.

Grave in Citadel New Military of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Guy Victor Baring 1st Coldstream Guards, Member of Parliament for Winchester, killed in action 15th September 1916. Born 1873 the fourth son of Alexander the 4th Baron Ashburton and Leonara, educated at Eton and Sandhurst joined the Condstream Guards woth a Regular Commission in 1893, made a Lieutenant in 1897 and served in the South African War being made a Captain in 1901 and Major in 1910 and was on the Reserve of Officers from June 1913 until 5th August 1914 when he was in charge of a training company at Windsor. He left for France in July 1915 as second-in-command of the 4th (Pioneer) Battalion and afte the Battle of Loos was given command of the 1st Battalion on the 2nd October 1915. In May 1916 he assumed Temporary Command of the 2nd Guards Brigade but by 9th September he was back and in command of the 1st Battalion which had arrived from th Ypres sector on the Somme at the end of July 1916. See notes for photograph (227) as to the action on the 15th September. The battle turned out to be an extremely confusing one and of Colonel Baring’s death it is recorded “While moving his battalion to the right, Colonel Baring climbed over a barricade, although he knew the Germans were still on the other side, and was instantly killed, shot in the head.” Oliver Lyttleton 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards records “I went back to our front line to collect a proper machine-gun, when I stumbled into Lieutenant Colonel Guy Baring of the Coldstream Guards. He said “Where’s my battalion?” Lyttleton responded that he had just been trying to give some covering fire and there was one company trying to get forward. Baring said “I must join them at once” and started to climb the trench but Lyttleton tried to stop him, telling him to go round a little as he would get hit at that point. But he paid no attention and clambered up the trench and Lyttleton heard a bullet strike him and he fell back into Lyttelton’s arms dead.

For further information see entry under Cemeteries in France - Grove Town Cemetery Meaulte for Private William Frazer.

Grave in Citadel New Military of Captain Alfred Keith Smith Cunninghame of the 2nd Grenadier Guards killed in action 25th September 1916 aged 25 the last surviving officer of the original battalion which went out to France in August 1914.

For further information see entry under Cemeteries in France - Grove Town Cemetery Meaulte for Private William Frazer

Grave in Citadel New Military of Lance-Corporal Alan Reid RAMC died 7th September 1916 aged 21. Headstone bears inscription “Accidentally killed in the execution of his duty.”

Grave in Citadel New Military of Private Clifford Izzard No 4450 2nd Royal Warwickshire Regiment. Born Monks Kirby. Enlisted Rugby whilst resident in Monks Kirby. Killed in action 8th June 1916. Commemorated on Monks Kirby War Memorial.

For circumstances see entry under Monks Kirby War Memorial

Courcelette British Cemetery, Miraumont, Somme. 3 miles S of Miraumont, 7 miles NE of Albert, SW of village of Courcelette. Stormed in Battleof Flers-Courcelette September 15th 1916 by 2nd Canadian Division and Tanks. Records 780 Can, 657 UK, 514 Aust.,1 NZ, 5 Unknown and 9 special memorials.

Grave in Courcelette British Cemetery, Miroumont of No 3956 Private Walter James Webb, 50th Battalion Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force killed in action 16th August 1916 aged 21 years. Headstone bears inscription “To the memory of our beloved husband and father.” Son of Walter James and Medora Azelia Webb; husband of Mrs S G Webb of 8a William Street, North Croydon, South Australia. Native of Mannum, South Australia.

Crouy British Cemetery, Crouy-Sur-Somme, Somme. 2 miles SE of Hangest, S of village of Crouy, a village about 16 kilometres NW of Amiens. Begun in April 1918 and used from then until August 1918 mostly from 5th and 47th Casualty Clearing Stations which had come to the village because of the German advance. Records 280 UK., 275 Aust., 180 Can., 1 BWI., 2 Ind., 6 French and 44 German burials.

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 421241 Private Frederick James Hardy London Regiment “C” Company 2nd/10th (County of London) Battalion (Hackney) died of wounds 26th April 1918 aged 23 years. Enlisted Hackney, residence Clapton Park. Son of Jessie and the late Charles Hardy of Leyton Essex. (See Entry for Sergeant/Bandmaster Cecil Coles below). Private Hardy is the only soldier of this Battalion who died on the 26th April 1918 of wounds and may well therefore be one of those whom Sergeant Coles attended.

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 394252 Corporal Thomas Edward Brown London Regiment 9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) died of wounds 26th April 1918 aged 31 years. Born Paddington, enlisted London residence Paddington. Husband of Maud Brown of 11 Acland Road Cricklewood London. Native of Willesden Green London. ( See Entry for Sergeant/Bandmaster Cecil Coles below). In addition to Corporal Brown Rifleman T C Williams (entry below), Rifleman T L Clark (entry below) and Rifleman V G Jarvis (Entry below) are buried in this cemetery having died of wounds on the 28th April 1918, 27th April 1918 and 26th April 1918 and these soldiers as well may well therefore be amongst those whom Sergeant Coles attended. A Rifleman George Thomas Freeman of Queen Victoria’s Rifles also died of wounds on the 26th April 1918 but was at that date attached to 12th County of London Battalion (The Rangers) and is buried in Etaples Military Cemetery, 22 kilometres S of Boulogne a majority of the burials being from the hospitals in that area. It is not considered he was involved in the action which led to the death of these 5 soldiers.

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 390653 Sergeant (Bandmaster) Cecil Frederick Gottlieb Coles London Regiment 9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) died of wounds 26th April 1918 aged 29 years. Headstone bears inscription “He was a genius before anything else and a hero of the first water.” Until its merger with the 1st Battalion on the 1st February 1918 Cecil Coles had served in the 2nd Battalion Queen Victoria’s Rifles the Battalion landing in France on the 4th February 1917. On the 26th September 1917 in the course of the Third Battle of Ypres the 2nd Battalion as part of 175th Brigade 58th Division attacked in thick mist from east of St Julien. For the remainder of the year the Battalion was in rest camps or training with short spells in the trenches including a spell near Poelcappelle. About October 1917 the 2/9th Battalion officers got up a band raised largely by subscriptions among themselves and some “unknown” friends. Sergeant Coles a clever musician was given the difficult task of selecting the musicians there being only one or two trained men at his disposal. He accomplished wonders gathering together about 20 instruments and performers. By March 1918 the Battalion was in the area of Amigny-Rouy-St Gobain south of St Quentin in the Outpost Zone in readiness for the expected German attack. Sergeant Coles was a member of the permanent patrol party which went out nightly to the village of Servais to lay in wait for German patrols. During the retreat the Germans shelled the village of Chauny where the Band’s instruments had been stored in a house which received a direct hit destroying the instruments. The 21st March 1918 was the first day of the German Spring Offensive. On the 3rd April 1918 the Battalion was relieved by a French battalion and began a journey by rail to Longeau 5 miles east of Amiens. On the 7th April the Battalion was in trenches in front of Villers-Bretonneux “slits in the ground very wet and miserable. Plenty of dead Huns about.” Their followed periods in billets and the reserve line. On the night of the 23rd/24th April the Bttalion was holding the Southern Reserve Sector astride the Longeau-Domart Road with intention of relieving the 3rd London Battalion in the front line on the right of Hangard Wood. However before daybreak on the 24th April the enemy began a furious bombardment of the whole region extending from opposite Albert to a point as far south as Hangard finishing with an attack which concentrated in the area to the south and led to the Germans capturing Villers-Bretonneux the gateway to Amiens. In consequence the Battalion about midday was ordered forward to take the place of the 2/10th London who had counter-attacked and were holding a position near the support line east of the village of Gentelles and South of the village of Cachy. The HQ of the 9th and 2/10th were in a small quarry on the reverse slope of a hill west of Hangard Wood. The Battalion occupied small holes in the ground dotted on the hillside in the neighbourhood of Battalion HQ, the Germans keeping the area under very heavy shell-fire with many casualties. “B” Company lost all of its stretcher bearers. Battalion HQ in the quarry suffered especially. In the quarry there was a Regimental Aid Post round which the wounded were lying, the 8 inch shells bursting among them causing many deaths to them and to the stretcher bearers. “Very good work was done by Captain Gourlay, RAMC., Sergeant F Lloyd and Sergeant Coles the former bandmaster who was mortally wounded while attending to the injured.” He seemingly was unaware of the seriousness of his injuries humming a little Beethoven and asking whether his piano playing would be affected. Captain Gourlay wrote to his widow “I think there can be little doubt that your husband died of shock in which case he would not suffer any pain.” One of his regimental mates wrote of him “Cecil was a genius before anything else and a hero of the first water. I admired him more than anyone highly strung and sensitive but with a fine firm noble will and able to bring it into force at the critical moment.” He was taken back to Crouy to one of the Casualty Clearing Stations where he died. Son of Frederick Rhenius Coles and Margaret Neilson Coles, husband of Phoebe Coles and father of Brooke and Penny Catherine Coles (who never knew her father) of 11 Vancouver Road Catford London. Born at The Hermitage Tongland Kirkcudbright on the 7th October 1888. Enlisted 2nd September 1914. Musician and Composer. Following school in Edinburgh he matriculated as a music student at Edinburgh University by 1905, he won a scholarship to the London College of Music and met Gustav Holst. In 1908 he won another scholarship and went to study in Stuttgart in 1908 and by then had composed From the Scottish Highlands, Invocation and In the Cathedral. In 1911 he and Holst went on a walking tour in Switzerland and about this time he was appointed assistant conductor at the Stuttgart Royal Opera House. He married in 1912 and returned with Phoebe Coles to Germany but came back to England in 1913 when his first child his son Brooke was born completing at about this time Fra Giacomo. In 1915 he signed up for overseas service. While in uniform he continued to compose and Behind the Lines appears to have been begun in November 1917 the autograph manuscript of the first movement Estaminet de Carrefour in pencil is dated 3rd November 1917 was sent to Holst around Christmas that year is spattered with blood and mud and it was believed by Holst that the other movements were destroyed by shell fire in the March 1918 retreat, two of the movements The Wayside Shrine and Rumours were never found but a short score of the third movement Cortege survived.

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 393057 Rifleman Thomas Clifford Williams 9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) died of wounds 28th April 1918 aged 27 years. Enlisted London, residence Bournemouth. Son of Thomas Joseph Edward and Minnie Williams of Solihull, Warwickshire. (See Entry above for Sergeant Coles).

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 394101 Rifleman Tom Lambert Clark London Regiment, 9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) died of wounds 27th April 1918 aged 23 years. Born Bow, enlisted London, residence Leytonstone. Son of Tom Lambert and Georgina Elizabeth Clark of Bow, London. (see Entry above for Sergeant Coles)

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 393382 Rifleman Victor George Jarvis London Regiment 9th (County of London) Battalion (Queen Victoria’s Rifles) died of wounds 26th April 1918 aged 22 years. Born Clerkenwell, enlisted London, residence Clerkenwell. Son of Mrs and Mr W Malin (stepfather) of 9 Percy Circus Kings Cross Road London. (see Entry above for Sergeant Coles).

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 18423 Lance Corporal Richard William Ormandy Army Cyclist Corps died of wounds on 20th May 1918. However the Cemetery Register records “Drowned in the Somme River” on this date. Enlisted Nottingham, Residence Arnold, Notts.

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No 823028 Corporal Herbert Garnet Bedford Miner VC Croix de Guerre 58th Battalion Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment). Died 8th August 1918.Extract from the London Gazette records “For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack, when despite severe wounds he refused to withdraw. He rushed an enemy machine-gun post single-handed, killed the entire crew and turned the gun on the enemy. Later, with two others, he attacked another enemy machine-gun post and succeeded in putting the gun out of action. Corporal Miner then rushed single-handed an enemy bombing post, bayoneting two of the garrison and putting the remainder to flight. He was mortally wounded in the performance of this gallant deed.”

Grave in Crouy British Cemetery of No P/1850 Acting Corporal William Thomas Billing Corps of Military Police died in an accident 2nd August 1918. Born Towcester, enlisted Thrapston, residence Ringstead.

Le Cateau Military Cemetery, Nord. Le Cateau is a small town approximately 27 kilometres east-south-east of Cambrai. The cemetery is W of town, near crossing of Caudry and Montay roads. Le Cateau and the country to the west was the scene of the battle fought by II Corps on the 26th August 1914 against a greatly superior German force. The town remained in German hands from that date until the evening of 10th October 1918. Le Cateau became a German railhead and an important hospital centre. The military cemetery was laid out in February 1916 with separate plots for the Commonwealth and German dead. It contains the graves of over 5,000 German soldiers, in part burials made during the occupation, the rest brought in from other German cemeteries after the Armistice. The majority of the graves in Plots I, III, IV and V are those of Commonwealth dead buried by the Germans, mainly from the battleground of 1914. All of the graves in plot II, eight of which were brought in after the Armistice, date from October and November 1918. The Commonwealth plots records 639 U.K., 28 S.A., 6 Aust., 2 Can., 2 N.Z., 1 Newfld. 1 R Guernsey L.I. burials and 20 special memorials.

Le Cateau Military Cemetery, Nord.

Grave in Plot I Le Cateau Military Cemetery of No 14498 Lance Corporal John William Sayers V.C. 8th Battalion The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment) died of wounds 18th April 1918 aged 39 years. An extract from the London Gazette dated 6th June 1919 records “For most conspicuous bravery, determination and ability displayed on the 21st March 1918 at Le Verguier, when holding for two hours, in face of incessant attacks, the flank of a small isolated post. Owing to mist the enemy approached the post from both sides to within 30 yards before being discovered. Lance Corporal Sayer, however, on his own initiative and without assistance, beat off a succession of flank attacks and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Though attacked by rifle and machine-gun fire, bayonet and bombs, he repulsed all attacks killing many and wounding others. During the whole time he was continuously exposed to rifle and machine-gun fire but he showed the utmost contempt of danger and his conduct was an inspiration to all. His skilful use of fire of all descriptions enabled the post to hold out until nearly all the garrison had been killed and himself wounded and captured. He subsequently died as a result of wounds at Le Cateau.” His platoon commander in the report of the Shepherds Copse action described Lance Corporal Sayer “defending against all attacks of the very much stronger enemy by bayonet and rifle with almost incredible bravery. Although for two hours he was continually exposed to enemy machine gunfire and bombs, he used his own rifle as coolly as if at the butts. Corporal Sayers showed the utmost contempt for danger and the enemy and inspired everyone by his conduct.” Le Verguier is a small village about 15 kilometres East of Peronne in the Somme region and Shepherds Copse is some 2 kilometres North East of the village. There were three separate posts connected by trenches on the British front line. He was wounded, losing a leg. He died later in German captivity leaving a widow Edith Sayer and 6 children. Headstone bears inscription “Never shall his memory fade.”

Graves in Plot III Le Cateau Military Cemetery of Major Alexander Harvie Maclean, 2nd Battalion Princess Louise’s (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) killed in action 26th August 1914 aged 46 years; born Glasgow, son of Andrew Hislop Maclean, served in the South African campaign. Lieutenant Arthur Kirkpatrick Maclean, 2nd Battalion Princess Louise’s (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) killed in action 26th August 1914 aged 27 years; son of Reverend George Maclean, husband of Enid Maclean of Moy, Warren Lane, Crowborough, Sussex. Lieutenant George Herbert Payne, 2nd Battalion Suffolk Regiment killed in action 26th August 1914 aged 21 years; son of George Payne Sleaford Road, Boston Lincs and the late Gertrude Payne. Captain the Honourable Robert Bruce (Master of Burleigh) 2nd Battalion Princess Louise’s (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) killed in action 26th August 1914 aged 34 years; son of Lord and Lady Balfour of Burleigh, Kennet, Aloa, Scotland. Captain Archibald Edward Kennedy 2nd Battalion Princess Louise’s (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) killed in action 26th August 1914 aged 35 years; son of Sir John Gordon Kennedy K.C.M.G. and Evelyn Adela Kennedy of Burnthouse Cuckfield Sussex.

  Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez, Pas de Calais. Souchez is a village about 7 miles North from Arras centre on the Arras – Bethune D937 road.  The cemetery is about 1 mile south of the village itself.  On the 26th September 1915 Souchez was taken from the Germans by the French.  The village itself was completely destroyed.  In March 1916 the French handed over the sector to Commonwealth forces.  The “Cabaret Rouge” was a large house on the main road near the site of the cemetery, on the opposite side of the D937 to the cemetery were dugouts used as battalion headquarters in 1916 and communication trenches ended in the vicinity including a very long one named the Cabaret.  The cemetery was begun by Commonwealth troops in March 1916, used until August 1917 (largely by the 47th (London) Division and the Canadian Corps) and – at intervals – until September 1918.  Original  burials are in plots I to V.  The cemetery was greatly enlarged after the Armistice when more than 7,000 graves were brought in from the battlefields of Arras and from 103 other burial grounds in the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais.  Records 6,705 U.K., 721 Can., 115Aust., 42 S.A., 8 N.Z, 2 Newfld., 4 German burials and 60 special memorials.  The cemetery now contains 7,655 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, more than half of them unidentified, and so there must have been further burials post 1930.

   Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez.

 Grave in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery of No. 11742 Private Arthur Follows, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards killed in action 25th January 1915 aged 22 years.  Headstone bears an inscription “Peace, Perfect Peace With Loved ones far away.”

 Grave in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery of No. 11743 Private Richard Follows, 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards killed in action 25th January 1915 aged 23 years.  Headstone bears inscription “Until the day breaks And the shadows pass away.”  These two brothers worked together, enlisted together, served together and died together and are now buried in adjacent plots having first been buried near Cuinchy brickworks south of the La Bassee canal.

 View detailed record of the Follows brothers

 Grave in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery of a Soldier of the Great War, Coldstream Guards, known unto God.  Almost certainly from the 1st Battalion and killed on the 25th January 1915

  Grave in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery of No. 8630  Private W R E Facey, No 4 Company,1st Battalion Coldstream Guards killed in action 25th January 1915 aged 21 years.

Grave in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery of No. 5499 Private T J Tudball 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards killed in action 25th January 1915.

Privates Arthur and Richard Follows, the unknown soldier and then Privates Facey and Tudball are buried in plots XXV-B-1 to 5.

 Grave in Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery of No. 11084 Private H T Fletcher 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards killed in action 25th January 1915 aged 21 years.  Headstone bears inscription “Never forgotten.”
 Private Fletcher is buried in plot XXV-C-2, the row behind his fellow Guardsmen.

Caix British Cemetery, Somme.  16 miles East of Amiens, 3 miles West of Rosieres-en-Santerre, South East of the village and on the road to Warvillers.  Begun in March 1918 and enlarged after the Armistice.  Caix was taken on the night of 8th August 1918 by the Canadian Corps.  Records 219 Can., 129 U.K. and 12 Aust.  Burials.

 Grave in Caix British Cemetery of No. 20486 Private Walter Henry Eagles 7th Dragoon Guards (Princess Royal’s)  who died on the 9th August 1918 aged 36 years.  Husband of Adeline Mary Eagles of 18 Clarendon Road, Weston-super-Mare.  Headstone bears inscription “Thy Life was given for me.”

A Cross (now split) placed on the Grave of Private Walter Henry Eagles by Adeline Eagles inscribed “To my dear husband Walter Henry Eagles who fell Aug. 8th 1918.”

  Grave in Caix British Cemetery of Captain G B Tatham 3rd Battalion the Rifle Brigade,  M.C. who was killed in action on the 30th March 1918 aged 34 years.  Headstone records he was killed near Hangard Wood and was a Fellow and Junior Bursar of Trinity College Cambridge and the younger son of T C Tatham of Highgate.

Grave in Caix British Cemetery of No. 4733 Trumpeter John Moylan D.C.M. 11th (Prince Albert’s Own) Hussars killed in action  on the 8thth August 1918.  The award of the D.C.M. was apparently when John Moylan was serving with the 18th (Queen Mary’s Own) Hussars and the entry in the London Gazette records “For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. He repeatedly entered a trench and rescued men who had been wounded and assisted to carry them to a place of safety under heavy shell fire.”  Born Dundalk, enlisted Curragh.

Grave in Caix British Cemetery of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur John Alexander  Menzies D.S.O. Royal Army Medical Corps, commanding 3rd Cavalry Field Ambulance, who died 9th August 1918 aged 32 years.  The 3rd Cavalry Field Ambulance was a Canadian unit and Colonel Menzies was killed in an air raid on the 9th August 1918. Son of Mrs. E R Stephens of Bucklands, Churt, Surrey and late Alexander Mensies.  Husband of Ethel F W Lucas of 9 Alexandra Court Queen’s Gate London.  Headstone bears inscription “Peace, Peace. He is not dead He dost not sleep He hath awaken from the dream of life.” 

 
 Graves in Caix British Cemetery of Lieutenant C Sotheron E’stcourt Royal Air Force M.C. who died on the 8th August 1918 aged 24 years : and Lieutenant Arnold Derham Robinson Royal Air Force who died on the 12th August 1918.

 Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, Pas de Calais.  Cuinchy is a village about 4 miles east of Bethune, north of the road from Bethune to La Bassee but just to the south of the La Bassee Canal.  Just under a mile from the village and across the canal is a cross roads known as Windy Corner and the Cemetery is on the minor road running from the west of these cross road back to the Canal.  Near to this cemetery was a house used as Battalion HQ and dressing Station and the cemetery was begun by the 2nd Division in January 1915 and used extensively by the 4th (Guards) Brigade in and after February 1915.  The cemetery was closed at the end of May 1915 when it contained 681 graves but after the Armistice was increased by the concentration of 2,720 graves from the neighbouring battlefields and small cemeteries, in particular from the battlefields of Neuve-Chapelle, the Aubers Ridge and Festubert.  There are now nearly 3,500 1914 – 1918 casualties commemorated in this site.  Of these, over 2,000 are unidentified and special memorials are erected to 36 soldiers from the U.K. known or believed to be buried among them.  Smaller graveyards from which graves were concentrated into this cemetery include Baluchi Road Cemetery, Neuve-Chapelle; Edward Road Cemetery No. 3 Richebourg-L’Avoue; Indian Village Cemetery, Festubert; Lorgies Communal Cemetery and Pont-Fixe South Cemetery, Cuinchy.

Grave in Guards Cemetery,  Cuinchy of No. 11096 Private William Hubert Morris 2nd Battalion Oxford and Bucks. Light Infantry who was killed in action on the 25th September 1915 aged 18 years.  Born Wolston, enlisted Rugby residence Shenton Warwickshire. Private Morris is also commemorated on the Wolston Village War Memorial.

For circumstances see entry under Wolston Village Memorial

Grave in Guards Cemetery, Cuinchy of 2nd Lieutenant Harold F Marion-Crawford 1st Battalion Irish Guards died 16th April 1915 aged 27 years.  Brigade Bombing Officer.  Son of late Francis Marion-Crawford, the novelist of Villa Crawford, Sorrento.  Husband of Nina Marion-Crawford.

Harold Marion-Crawford joined the Battalion on the 28th November 1914 when the Battalion was at Meteren and by mid December he was established in No. 3 Company.  At the end of February 1915 he had a period of leave in England.  The Battalon had a minor part to perform in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle where the opening stages of the attack on the 10th March went very well.  Three days after the end of the Battle on the 15th March 1915 2nd Lieutenant Marion-Crawford was appointed Brigade Bombing Officer to the Guards Brigade with 60 men under him attached to the Irish Guards.  The “jam pot” grenade of 1914 was practically obsolete by then; the “stick” hand grenade of the hair brush type and the grenade fired from rifles had succeeded it and were appearing on the front in appreciable quantities.  The Mills bomb which superseded all others both for hand and rifle was not available before the autumn of 1915 and was not lavishly supplied until the beginning of 1916.

On the 16th April 1915 while Harold Marion-Cawford was schooling some men of the 3rd Coldstream Guards with live grenades, one exploded and killed him instantaneously.  “He had shown the greatest ability in organizing the bombing work and his loss at that time where bombers were being more and more leaned upon was very seriously felt.”  He was buried four hours after his death in this Cemetery.

Eventually the British bombing team consisted of 9 men: an N.C.O., 2 throwers, 2 carriers and 2 bayonet men to defend the team and 2 “spare” for use when casualties were incurred.  The earliest bombs were made from tins, packed with guncotton and scrap metal with a fuse through the top.  “Stick” bombs basically were a canister filled with explosive with a handle, ignited by removing the safety pin and when then thrown the handle with “streamers” ensured it landed nose down and this forced the striker into the detonator but it was prone to the problem of hitting the trench wall detonating the bomb in the British  trench! The third early bomb was ignited by striking the grenade like a match against a special pad worn by the bomb thrower.

Grave in Guards Cemetery, Cuinchy of 2nd Lieutenant John Maurice Stewart 1st Battalion Irish Guards killed in action 1st April 1915 aged 19 years.  Son of Sir Charles Stewart K.B.E. and Lady Mary Stewart 24 Eccleston Square London SW1.

John Stewart joined the Battalion on the 30th December 1914 when it was billeted at Bethune and had taken over trenches near Le Touret between Essars and Richebourg. On the 10th March 1915 the Battalion began tours in Givenchy sector trenches resting at Le Preol.  2nd Lieutenant Stewart was killed before dawn on the 1st April 1915 while looking over the parapet of the trench at Duck’s Bill and was buried at noon in this Cemetery.  “He was one of the best of the younger officers of these days and had proved himself on many occasions.”

Headstone bears inscription “Some we behold not They have passed in glory.”

Grave in Guards Cemetery, Cuinchy of Lieutenant Frederick Guy Marshall 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards killed in action 22nd March 1915 aged 22 years.  Son of Major Wilfred Marshall and Mrs. Marshall now Lady Bridges.

On the 20th October 1914 Lieutenant Marshall was with No. 3 Company of the Grenadier Guards at St. Jean north of Ypres.  He was with the Battalion on the 22nd November 1914 one of only 12 officers who had survived the First Battle of Ypres, and by the 25th December had moved to become 2 i/c of No. 2 Company.  On the 12th March 1915 the Battalion relieved the Irish Guards at Givenchy, north of the Canal and East of the Windy Corner cross roads.  The trenches which were comparatively new were shallow and the parapet not bullet proof, the village of Givenchy was a complete ruin and the roads were full of shell-holes, bricks, tiles, and debris of every description.  The shelling and sniping went on intermittently.  On the 22nd March 1915 Lieutenant Frederick Marshall who had been having tea with the doctor, Captain F D G Howell, Royal Army Medical Corps, at the dressing station was returning to the trenches when a stray bullet killed him.
Headstone bears inscription “The dead live there and move like winds of light on dark and stormy air."

Grave in Guards Cemetery, Cuinchy of Brigadier-General the Honourable John Frederick Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis,  D.S.O., Irish Guards, C.O. 20th Infantry Brigade 7th Division killed in action 24th October 1915 aged 37 years.

The Honourable John Hepburn-Stuart-Forbes-Trefusis was born in 1878 the son of the 20th Baron Clinton and of the Dowager Lady Clinton of Woodleigh Sunninghill Berkshire.  Educated at Eton he served as a trooper in the South African war and was gazetted as an officer in the Irish Guards in 1901.  He became Adjutant of the Regiment from 1909 to 1913 and then following a period at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst joined the 1st Battalion as Adjutant on the 18th September 1914.  By mid December 1914 he was a Major and the Commanding Officer of the Battalion.  He was awarded the D.S.O. in February 1915 remaining as Lieutenant Colonel and C.O. of the Battalion in early May 1915.  On the 15th August 1915 he was appointed reluctantly to the command of the 20th Infantry Brigade.  Just prior to the relief of the 20th Infantry Brigade by the 21st Infantry Brigade, Commanding Officer Brigadier General R A Berners, Brigadier General Trefusis was going round the trenches at Givenchy when he was shot in the head by a German sniper and died almost immediately, a vigorous and capable commander his death being described as a great loss to the Brigade. 

Headstone bears inscription “R.I.P.”

Grave in Guards Cemetery, Cuinchy of Major James Mackenzie, V.C.  1st Battalion attached 2nd Battalion the Bedfordshire Regiment killed in action 17th May 1915 aged 44 years.  A native of Contin Rosshire.

The issue of the London Gazette dated 15th January 1901 records “On the 6th June 1900 at Dompoassi in Ashanti Sergeant Mackenzie after working two maxim guns under hot fire and being wounded while doing so volunteered to clear the stockades of the enemy which he did in the most gallant manner leading the charge himself and driving the enemy headlong into the bush.”

The Battalion was part of 21st Infantry Brigade, 7th Division and the plan was for the 7th Division to break through the German line north of the village of Festubert heading East and towards la Turelle a hamlet on what is now the D947 La Bassee to Estaires road.  The aartillery bombardment began on the 13th May and the initial infantry assault was on the 15th May; the Battalion with the 4th Battalion Cameron Highlanders were not involved until the night of the 17th May when in wet and miserable conditions the two battalions started their attack at 7.30 p.m.   It had been made without any previous reconnaissance and so the Bedfordshire was not aware of the fact that deep ditches crossed their line of advance the last, finally checking their attempts to advance, being 12 feet broad and 5 feet deep and full of water.  At these deep ditches the Battalion had become disorganised and was enfiladed by German machine-guns from the right causing heavy casualties.  Major Mackenzie was killed as he left the jumping-off trench.

.Major James Mackenzie was killed during the course of the Battle of Festubert 15th-25th May 1915, the last of the three attacks on the German lines on Aubers Ridge in 1915.