Author: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter & Daria

On The War Memorial Trail….The Calais Canadian War Cemetery

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October 8, 2017.  Following a restful night in Caen, we made our way to the final cemetery we were visiting in France, the Calais Canadian War Cemetery in Leubringhen, 14 km from Calais, where Lt. James Arthur AFFLECK is buried.  This is the second WWII grave we visited in France.

Calais was liberated by the Canadian 1st Army early in September 1944 as they advanced up the French coast into Belgium, in pursuit of retreating German forces.  Most of the burials in the Calais Canadian War Cemetery are from this period of fighting.  There are 704 Commonwealth burials from WWII, of which 30 are unidentified.  594 of these burials are of Canadian soldiers. There also are 6 Czech and 19 Polish war graves.

After the earlier struggles we had getting to the Commonwealth War Cemeteries in France, this cemetery was surprisingly easy to find.  It was the first one we were at that had a sign on the highway, and it was conveniently located right off of the highway exit to Leubringhen, a village that’s halfway between Calais and Boulogne.  There was even a parking area!

CIMG8630 Sep 8 2017 sign for Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Sign off of the highway exit directing us to Calais Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

James Arthur Affleck was born April 15, 1920 in Bedeque, Prince Edward Island, the son of Robert Bruce Affleck and Mary Eliza MacCallum.  A farmer before he enlisted with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders on March 3, 1942, he was killed in action by artillery shells on September 17, 1944, during the first day of the Battle of Boulogne (Operation Wellhit), in a 5 day battle to take the port of Boulogne from German control.

Arthur Affleck

Lt. James Arthur Affleck. (Photo courtesy of Percy Affleck Family Collection)

In ‘No Retreating Footsteps: The Story of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders’, published in 1954, author Will Bird tells what happened on September 17, 1944 on pages 222 and 223:

“… L/Cpl K. L. Miller was with Sgt. P. J. Whalen as A Company went up to attack.  They rode almost over the crest of the first hill, then began crawling inside a hedge and used it for cover until they came to a gap and some large craters.  There was barbed wire around a number of buildings, and a far one seemed to have been used for a garage.  Direct bomb hits had crashed the first two buildings to wreckage.  The next was a pillbox but heavy mortar fire descended and forced everyone to take shelter in the craters.  Sgt. Whalen was killed and before the barrage let up three others had lost their lives. Miller worked along a distance toward the pillbox and was told the officer, too, had been killed…. The officer killed during the heavy shelling was Lt. Affleck and it was his first battle….”

The path from the parking area to the cemetery is lined with trees and is hauntingly beautiful and gives the appearance of the peace that those who died in battle deserve – well, except for the fierce wind.  It was a reminder of the windy areas back on Prince Edward Island!

CIMG8629 Sep 8 2017 walkway to Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Grassy walkway from the parking lot to Calais Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

CIMG8617 Sep 8 2017 Pieter outside Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Pieter at the entrance to Calais Canadian War Cemetery. We were taking bets on how long the rain would hold off. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The sky was black but the rain held off long enough for Pieter to plant flags by Lt. Affleck’s grave.

CIMG8621 Sep 8 2017 Pieter at Afflecks grave at Calais Cdn War Cemetery

Pieter at the grave of Lt. James Arthur Affleck in Calais Canadian War Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

As we were going back to the car, however, the downpour began!   Luckily, we were only 74 km from our destination of De Panne, a coastal town that would be our base in Belgium.

In the next blog entry we return to the WWI war memorial trail, this time in the area around Ypres, Belgium. Do you have photo or info on James Arthur Affleck?  Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at  memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….A Trip To The Bayeux War Cemetery

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October 6, 2017.  I was very much looking forward to the trip to Bayeux, but not for the cemetery.  Located 30 km northwest of Caen, where we were staying overnight, Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry.  This is an embroidered cloth, dating from sometime in the 1070s, nearly 70 metres (230 ft) long and 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy (William The Conqueror), and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings in 1066.  This tapestry is hanging in the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux (Bayeux Museum of Tapestry) in Bayeux.

Pieter’s ancestry goes back to Hamon de Masci, a cousin of William the Conqueror, and whose sons made the journey to England with him from Normandy as part of the conquest.  In the late 1500s, a descendant settled in The Netherlands and started a brick factory, and the rest is part of Valkenburg history.

….In Bayeux I wanted to see a tapestry, Pieter a war cemetery….

Of course, when I excitedly mentioned what a great coincidence it was that we were going to Bayeux, a place I wanted to go anyway, Pieter looked at me in horror.  Why would we waste time looking at an old tapestry when we were here to visit a cemetery and had not much time after the trip to Rouen, that same day? No way! He reminded me that we still had to find our lodging in Caen and that I had been in a great deal of ‘distress’ (he was too polite to say ‘in a panic’) when we were driving in very busy Rouen.

So, with no chance at examining genealogical history, we went to Bayeux, paying an additional 5.50 euros in toll charges, followed shortly afterwards by another 3.50 euro toll, and stopped at the Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, where George Ashley BARTLETT, another of the men on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion is buried.

CIMG8610 Sep 7 2017 Pieter at Bayeux War Cemetery entrance

Pieter at the entrance to Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The Bayeux War Cemetery was the first one that had visitors at the same time we were there.  We weren’t alone!  We wondered if this was because it was a WWII cemetery.  All of our other visits had been to WW1 cemeteries and memorials.  It’s also the largest we’ve been to up to now, with 4,144 Commonwealth burials from WWII, 338 unidentified.  There are an additional 500 graves of other nationalities, most of them German.

The cemetery is in an urban setting, and across the street from the Bayeux Memorial, which honours the men of the British and Commonwealth land forces who fell in the early stages of the campaign in northwest Europe of 1945 and have no known grave.  Next to the Bayeux Memorial is the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum (Musée Mémorial Bataille de Normandie) in Bayeux.  If you are interested in learning more about the D-Day Landing / Operation Overlord operations, plan a visit to Bayeux!  There were a lot of tour buses – from several European countries – and a lot of people walking around.

….George Ashley Bartlett survived D-Day but lost his life during Operation Tractable….

Sergeant George Ashley Bartlett was born in the Gaspé Peninsula, Quebec, on June 3, 1917, the son of Walter Philip Bartlett and Annie Alice Wright.  He enlisted with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in Amherst in June 1940. In 1941, he married Leah Jean Campbell in Amherst, Nova Scotia, and they had a son John Ashley.

Photo George Ashley Bartlett

Photo: George Ashley Bartlett. (Photo courtesy of North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum in Amherst, Nova Scotia)

Bartlett survived the D-Day Landing, but then, on August 14, 1944 he was wounded in action during Operation Tractable to capture Falaise Ridge, and died the following day.  Operation Tractable, fought between August 14 and 21, 1944, was the final offensive conducted by Canadian and Polish troops, supported by one brigade of British tanks, as part of the Battle of Normandy during World War II.

CIMG8603 Sep 7 2017 Pieter by grave of G A Bartlett in Bayeux War Cemetery

Pieter at the grave of George Ashley Bartlett in Bayeux War Cemetery after laying down the flags of Canada, PEI, and Canada 150. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

….Bartlett’s young son drowned a few years later in Crapaud….

At the time of his death, his wife and son were living in Crapaud.  Mrs. Bartlett remarried, to Ellsworth Wilson, a barber, but then she suffered a second tragedy.  Her young son drowned in March 1948 while she was at the hairdresser shop owned by the mother of Crapaud resident Gene Rogerson.  Gene recalled that young Ashley Bartlett had taken a toboggan to the nearby pond.

….A replica of the Bayeux Tapestry was on a museum wall….

As for me and my dream of seeing the Bayeux Tapestry, I had the last word on this trip to the Bayeux War Cemetery.  As we walked to the car, which was parked at the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum, I spotted a poster of the Bayeux Tapestry on the Museum wall and managed to convince Pieter to stand beside it.

CIMG8612 Sep 7 2017 Pieter by poster of Bayeux Tapestry at British Military Museum in Bayeux

Pieter by a poster of the Bayeux Tapestry outside the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum in Bayeux. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In the next blog entry we make our way to our last cemetery in France, to Leubringhen, just before the Belgian border. Do you have photo or info on George Bartlett?  Comments or stories?  Email us at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or tweet to @researchmemori1.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….On The Road To Rouen

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October 1, 2017.  Leaving the Arras area, which we had thought was busy enough, was an experience, as now we encountered toll roads.  We soon learned to dread the words ‘gare de péage’.  While all the toll booths have iconic names, like the first one we pulled up at, named ‘Jules Verne’, they are now mostly automated, and you need cash or a debit or credit card.

…. ‘Gare de péage’ meant frustration in trying to pay a toll in Normandy….

If you are one of the modern people thinking ‘Dinosaur’, let me describe the experience.  First off, the box where you have to pay is designed to accommodate truckers, not people in dinky toy cars like the majority of cars used in Europe.  Most people do not have the rubber arms needed to reach up to drop the money in, so each toll booth encounter takes longer than it would if you paid an attendant, as car doors open and people try to squeeze out in the available space to drop their money in manually, or pay by card.  And of course, you need first to figure out WHERE you place your money as there is more than one slot.

If you use cash, as we did, you soon also learned that it’s best to have exact change, as otherwise you have to WAIT for change and then reach up to another slot to get your money.  Anyone in a hurry sometimes leaves their change behind!

PEI is not alone in charging heavy tolls.  We left 7.70 euros at Jules Verne, only to encounter another toll booth 6 minutes later!  At this one we picked up a ticket which cost us another 5.70 euros half an hour later.  The count so far … 13.40 euros.  In Canadian dollars it comes to about $19.75, and the day was just beginning.

…. We were on the right street but in the wrong community!….

It took us just over 2 ½ hours to get to Rouen from Mont St. Eloi, and, following the GPS instructions to the St. Sever Cemetery, arrived at Boulevard Stanislas Girardin, only to find it was in downtown Rouen.  No cemetery in sight!  The streets are extremely narrow, jam packed with cars and pedestrians and most of the streets one way traffic only.  We finally gave up trying to figure out what had gone wrong and stopped in front of a short driveway into a huge government building behind a walled gate, and asked a passerby for help.

The poor man looked at our sheet from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and finally said, very kindly, that we were on the right street, but not in Rouen.  The cemetery was in a nearby community.  Sure enough, when we looked at the cemetery location instructions, it said it was “situated on the eastern edge of the southern Rouen suburbs of Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly.”  But what we didn’t understand was why we’d been directed downtown when we had the right street.

The man explained that it was in either Le Grand Quevilly or Le Petit Quevilly, he wasn’t sure which.  So, the GPS got reprogrammed for Le Grand Quevilly.  The word “suburb” was a misnomer.

While this discussion had been going on, traffic was backing up as people wanting to get into or out of the government driveway were held up as we were blocking the road.  Not one person honked or showed any impatience!  We thanked the man for his help, and then slowly backed up onto the traffic, and made our way out of town.

…. A car salesman steered us in the right direction to the cemetery….

Le Grand Quevilly was a short distance away, but it was not the location of the cemetery.  We pulled into a car dealership to ask directions, only to find out that France shuts down for lunch break.  Everything was locked up, but we found a salesman in a tent on the lot, reading his emails.

“I’m from a different country,” he said, when we asked about the cemetery.  Then he made us laugh when he went on to say, “I’m from Paris.”  But he was very effective at finding someone who could help us and that’s when we learned that we wanted to be in Le Petit Quevilly, and how to get there.

In Le Petit Quevilly, on a street by the same name as in Rouen (what are the odds?), we were able to find St. Sever Cemetery Extension, the location where Bazil Cormier is buried.

CIMG8598 Sep 7 2017 sign directing us to St Sever Cemetery Extension

Sign to the St. Sever Cemetery in Le Petit Quevilly. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

According to the information provided by the Canadian War Graves Commission, during WWI, Commonwealth camps and hospitals were stationed on the southern outskirts of Rouen.  Most hospitals remained there during the war.  A number of those who died in the hospitals were buried in other cemeteries, but the majority were buried at St. Sever Cemetery.  In September 1916, the Extension, where Bazil Cormier is buried, began.

In WWII, Rouen was again a hospital centre, and several Commonwealth soldiers who were prisoners of war during the German occupation are buried in the Extension.

…. St. Sever Cemetery Extension was huge….

St. Sever Cemetery Extension is the largest cemetery we’ve been to so far, with 8,348 WWI Commonwealth burials, 10 of them unidentified, 328 WWII Commonwealth burials, 18 of them unidentified, and 8 foreign nationals.

With such a large cemetery, it was not easy to find Cormier’s grave.  Luckily, in this cemetery, several gardeners from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission were on site.  While Pieter went to look in the Grave Register, I looked at the graves, trying to find the row in which Cormier was buried.  One gardener asked if I needed help.  When I explained who we were looking for, he asked if I had the paper with the burial information.  I explained it was on the other side of the cemetery with Pieter, who was comparing it to the information in the Grave Register.

Just to let you know how great these workers are, the gardener immediately went over to the other side of the cemetery and then spent the next few minutes looking for the grave, which of course was as far away as possible from where we were!

CIMG8587 Sep 7 2017 Pieter at the grave of Bazil Cormier at St Sever Cemetery Extension

Pieter at the grave of Bazil Cormier in St. Sever Cemetery Extension in Le Petit Quevilly. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

…. Bazil Cormier lost his life during the Battle of Amiens….

According to his Attestation papers, Private Bazil CORMIER was born January 6, 1898 in Tignish, the son of Joseph Cormier and Marie Arsenault.  A farmer before enlisting with the 105th Draft Regiment on December 4, 1916, he died of wounds received in the Battle of Amiens near Cachy on August 12, 1918, at the age of 21.  At the time of his death he was with the 26th New Brunswick Battalion.

The War Graves Register Circumstances of Death notes that “…During operations east of Amiens, on the morning of August 8th 1918, he was hit in the head by a machine gun bullet. He was immediately dressed by a comrade and carried out, but succumbed to his wounds at No. 4 General Hospital, Rouen, four days later...”  According to the active/casualty document in his file, however, he was transported to the No. 5 General Hospital, not the No. 4 General Hospital, where he died.

The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy, was the opening phase of the Allied offensive which began on August 8, 1918, later known as the Hundred Days Offensive, that ultimately led to the end of the First World War.  This is the same battle in which James CAIRNS lost his life on August 9, 1918.

CIMG8592 Sep 7 2017 Pieter at grave of B Cormier in St Sever Cemetery Extension

Pieter by the grave of Bazil Cormier. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

As with too many of the WWI soldiers, we have no photo or further information about Bazil Cormier.

The cemeteries we’d been to in the past days had all been in the countryside.  St. Sever Cemetery Extension was in an urban setting, and bordered the Rouen Soccer Club, which caught the interest of soccer fan Pieter.

CIMG8590 Sep 7 2017 next to St Sever Cemetery Extension is the soccer club of Rouen

The Rouen Soccer Club was on the other side of the fence of the St. Sever Cemetery Extension. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

We couldn’t leave the cemetery without giving flag pins to the gardeners, one of whom spoke English and told Pieter that he had just graduated from horticultural college and loved his job.  The head gardener, who had helped us in the beginning, was unfortunately out on an errand, so we were not able to say goodbye to him.

CIMG8596 Sep 7 2017 Pieter with a CWGC gardener at St Sever Cemetery Extension

Pieter with a young CWGC gardener at St. Sever Cemetery Extension. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In the next blog entry we make our way to Bayeux, which has a connection with Pieter’s genealogical research as well as the Cenotaph research project. Do you have photo or info on Bazil Cormier?  Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….The Ruins of Mont St. Eloi

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October 1, 2017.  While we were packing to leave Arras to go on to Rouen and Caen, Pieter expressed an interest in seeing the ruins of the Abbey in Mont St. Eloi.  “…Sure...” I said.  “…I’d love to see the Cathedral with the statue that survived hanging down….”  I went on and on until he interrupted, saying I had the wrong Cathedral in mind.  The one I was thinking of was in Albert, in the Somme Valley, the ‘Leaning Virgin of Albert’, which has since been restored and leans no more.

“…Doesn’t matter…” I said.  We aren’t planning to return to this area, so if he wanted to see something, we may as well do it.  Of course, in the morning when we were leaving, it was raining and Pieter was of two minds whether to make the trip to Mont St. Eloi or skip it. There was no connection, as far as we knew, to any of the soldiers on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, so this would be a side trip.

In the end, off we went.  Mont St. Eloi is on a hill above Arras, and at the top once stood the Mont St. Eloi Abbey.  All that remains today are two towers. The rest was destroyed during various wars.

Legend has it that the Abbey began in the 7th century by Saint Vindicianus, a disciple of Saint Eligius (Saint Eloi in French).  By the Middle Ages it was a powerful religious centre, but during the French Revolution, the stone walls were stolen. Only two towers of white limestone and a porch on the west wall were left.

When WW1 began, the towers were used by French troops to observe German positions on Lorette Spur and Vimy Ridge. The Germans fired every time the French troops moved, causing the French to believe they had a spy in their midst.  It took a while before they realized that what gave them away were birds nesting on the towers which took flight when troops disturbed them.

CIMG8583 Sep 7 2017 Pieter at ruined cathedral in Mont St Eloi

Pieter by the war-damaged towers of Mont St. Eloi Abbey. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In the next blog entry we encounter difficulties in finding St. Sever Cemetery Extension in Rouen, and learn that PEI is not alone in charging expensive tolls. Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

On The War Memorial Trail….Reflections on the Cemetery Visits in the Arras Area

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October 1, 2017.  After visiting the cemeteries and Vimy Memorial to honour the memories of the soldiers on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion who perished in the area around Arras, we went to our “local” café for the past few days, L’Eurostar Café Brasserie, for a well-deserved rest and final meal before leaving the area.

IMG_20170904_185344129 Sep 4 2017 Pieter at LEurostar Cafe in Arras enjoying a Leffe beer

Pieter enjoying Leffe blond beer at L’Eurostar Café Brasserie in Arras. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In France, dinner is not served before 7 pm.  Normally that wasn’t a problem for us as we would arrive at a restaurant completely exhausted long after 7 pm, but after the success in finally finding Manitoba Cemetery we arrived back in Arras in the late afternoon, and decided to have an early dinner before packing up to leave the area in the morning.

We arrived at the café at 5:45 pm only to be told the kitchen didn’t open before 7 pm.  We were too tired to go back to the hotel and come back later, so we ordered an appetizer, camembert cheese of course in honour of our host country, and a drink and relaxed until the chef appeared, right on the dot of 7 pm.

Since we had all this time to relax and reflect on our journey so far, I asked Pieter how he felt.  He said that, for him, “…visiting the graves made things come full circle.  You start off with a name on the Cenotaph.  Then you begin the research and read up on what happened.  Hopefully you get a photo and personal stories.  Now we’ve ended up where the person died after a very short life….”

Pieter thought a bit before he continued, “….on the one side, I feel sorry they died so young.  On the other hand I feel honoured to be there to pay respects to them.  It makes me want to know more about them, now that I’ve visited their grave or memorial….”

We both agreed that for the soldiers without a photo the picture is not complete.  “…When I stand by a grave at the cemetery and have a photo so I know how the person looked, then I can feel a connection…” Pieter explained.

“…It’s especially sad for soldiers like Arthur Collett, buried in Grandcourt Road Cemetery, and James Cairns, buried in Manitoba Cemetery, that they are buried in cemeteries that get very few visitors. They are just a number….“ Each identified grave lists the soldier’s name, unit, rank, and identification number.

We both also agreed that the gardeners and maintenance staff at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission do a fantastic job of keeping up the cemeteries.  Over the past days, we’ve handed out Canadian flag pins to anyone we’ve seen driving around in the white vans with CWGC written on them and they have been enthusiastically received.  Up to now, we hadn’t seen anyone in a cemetery itself, but the work they do in sometimes very difficult locations, such as Grandcourt Road Cemetery, is to be commended.

When Pieter began this project, World War I was just history to us, no different than the various dates and historical facts we learned in school over the years.  Now it’s become a story with real people, and along the way, we are meeting wonderful people who work hard to preserve the history that we have largely forgotten.

In the next blog entry we visit the ruins of Mount St. Eloi church before going on to Rouen to St. Sever Cemetery Extension. Do you have photos or information about James Cairns?  Does anyone know the family members who visited the grave of Ted Arsenault of Abrams Village? Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.

On The War Memorial Trail….The Search For Manitoba Cemetery

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September 30, 2017.  After the visit to Beaumont-Hamel, we had only one cemetery left to visit in the area around Arras.  Our previous attempt to find Manitoba Cemetery in Caix had been fruitless and frustrating.  We’d asked in the village and were willingly directed to the only ‘English’ cemetery known in the area – the British Cemetery!  There also was a German cemetery.  Manitoba Cemetery?  No one heard of it.  We’d tried the neighbouring village of Beaufort, and got directed to the same British Cemetery.

…Where is that cemetery?…

Pieter spent a long time online looking at Google maps to try and find out why we’d had so much trouble, and eventually realized that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission direction to the cemetery was incorrect!  The directions stated that the cemetery was “situated between the village of Caix and Beaufort.”  According to Google maps, there was a small road between the two villages where the cemetery appeared to be located.  However, there was NO Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery sign anywhere along the road between the villages, and no one we had asked had heard of it.

Back we went for a second try and arrived, again, in Caix.  Pieter was determined to find the grave of James CAIRNS, if he had to search every road in the area.

CIMG8363 Sep 5 2017 sign for Caix the location of the Manitoba Cemetery

We reach the village of Caix, location of Manitoba Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

…A farm path led to the cemetery…

Following the information Pieter learned from studying Google maps, we actually found the cemetery, down a farm path.  We’d actually been on the path the day before, but hadn’t gone down far enough as we thought it was a private road, not a public one, and there were no signs indicating that a cemetery was down the road.

CIMG8555 Sep 6 2017 Pieter at entrance to Manitoba Cemetery

Pieter at the entrance to Manitoba Cemetery just outside Caix. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

According to the information panel at the cemetery, the village of Caix was captured from the Germans in February 1917, lost in March 1918, and recaptured by the Canadian Corps four months later.  Named after the Manitoba Regiment of the 8th Canadian Battalion (known as Winnipeg Rifles), the cemetery has the graves of 2 British and 117 Canadians who fell in the recapture.  Seven of the burials are unidentified.

…James was born in Prince Edward Island but moved to Manitoba…

This was the second James Cairns on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, one identified as James Ambrose Cairns, and the one buried in Manitoba Cemetery known as James Cairns.  Born on February 22, 1897 in Kinkora, he was the son of Thomas Cairns and Mary Jane MacDonald.

The family moved to Manitoba from the island, and Cairns enlisted with the 190th Battalion Manitoba Regiment on July 8, 1916.  He was killed in action during the Battle of Amiens on August 9, 1918.  The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy, was the opening phase of the Allied offensive which began on 8 August 1918, later known as the Hundred Days Offensive, that ultimately led to the end of the First World War.

…James was killed by machine gun fire…

According to the Canadian War Graves Register circumstances of death, James “…was instantly killed on the afternoon of August 9th 1918, while advancing with his battalion, in the face of stout opposition from the enemy, who placed a heavy barrage at the ‘jumping off’ place, and from hidden nests poured machine gun fire in the ranks of the troops who pushed forward.  Location of the unit at the time of the casualty: West of the Meharicourt-Rouvroy road…”

CIMG8557 Sep 6 2017 Pieter places flags by grave of James Cairns at Manitoba Cemetery

Pieter placing flags by the grave of James Cairns at Manitoba Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

While we don’t have a photo of James Cairns, we are lucky to have a glimpse into his personality, through a letter that the sister of James Cairns received on September 18, 1918 from the 83rd Canadian Battalion British Expeditionary Forces:

“My Dear Miss Cairns:

I regret that the conditions of war made it impossible for me to write you sooner regarding the death of your brother Pte. James Cairns. He died in the afternoon of Aug 9th during the second day of our advance in front of Amiens. Death was instantaneous, the result of a machine gun bullet. I buried the body in a cemetery on the battlefield where many of his comrades lie. The grave is marked and will be permanent.

I knew your brother. He was doing well and was liked by everybody. His life has been given for human freedom and it will not be in vain. God will be pleased to accept the sacrifice and to make through it a better world. I pray God will bless you abundantly and sustain you all in this trial.

Believe me to be yours in deepest sympathy.

J. W. Whillans – Capt. and Chaplain”

…James is not the only Islander buried in the cemetery!…

We thought this was it for our trip to the cemetery.  All that was left was to write in the Guest Register.  While doing so, we had a little surprise.  The previous visitors from July 13 had come to honour their great-uncle and great-great uncle Theodore (Ted) ARSENAULT from Abrams Village! Who would believe that the last visitors to Manitoba Cemetery visited a soldier from Prince Edward Island?

Entries from the Guest Register at Manitoba Cemetery in Caix.  (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

We couldn’t leave without placing flags by another soldier from PEI!

IMG_20170906_152615630 Sep 6 2017 grave of Ted Arsenault in Manitoba Cemetery in Caix

Grave of T. E. Arsenault of Abrams Village. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

With that, we left Manitoba Cemetery and drove a way down the farm road to see if there may be a sign we missed.  There wasn’t, but we came across a reminder that this part of France saw suffering in WWII, as well as WW1.

CIMG8569 Sep 6 2017 WWII memorial on a farm path outside Caix

Memorial down the road from the Manitoba Cemetery outside Caix which roughly reads “On June 7, 1940 31 French soldiers from the 41st Infantry Regiment and 10th Army of Rennes were massacred by the Nazis. Remember. Colonel Loichet, commander of the 41st Infantry Regiment” (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

We drove around in the area, looking for a Commonwealth War Graves sign and found a very battered sign on the farm road, not on the main road, that you would see, not from Caix, but from Beaufort en Santerre. If you are planning to visit Manitoba Cemetery, the only other sign you will see is in Quesnel, from the D41. This town, however, is not mentioned in the cemetery info provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission!  From Quesnel, you would head towards Beaufort en Santerre via D161 and take an unnumbered road, called Rue du Bois, to reach the cemetery.  Where is Caix in all this?  If you continue past the cemetery then you will reach Caix, which has several military cemeteries which are clearly marked, but not the one for Manitoba Cemetery.

In the next blog entries we reflect on the cemeteries we’ve seen so far and visit the ruins of Mount St. Eloi church before going on to Rouen to St. Sever Cemetery Extension. Do you have photos or information about James Cairns?  Does anyone know the family members who visited the grave of Ted Arsenault of Abrams Village? Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com, comment on the blog, or tweet to @researchmemori1.    

© Daria Valkenburg

…Want to follow our research?…

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/

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On The War Memorial Trail….A Visit to Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Battlefield Memorial Park

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September 29, 2017.  After we left Grandcourt Road Cemetery, we decided to visit a memorial site where we were assured of easy access.  Kevin Peddle of Prince County Trophy in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, had made plaques for Pieter for two soldiers listed on Menin Gate in Ypres, Charles Benjamin BUXTON and George Albert CAMPBELL, and he had also made the plaques for Patrick Raymond ARSENAULT and John Lymon WOOD that were left at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in April by the Kinkora Regional High School students.

….Alec Peddle is listed on the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel….

So when Kevin mentioned that his great-uncle, Seaman Alec PEDDLE was killed during WWI, Pieter did some research for him and found out that he was the son of David and Mary Ann Peddle, husband of Julia Peddle, and was listed on the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Battlefield Memorial Park. Pieter promised to try and visit the memorial and pay his respects.

Beaumont-Hamel, the largest of the battlefield parks established in memory of Newfoundlanders who lost their lives in World War I, is located nine kilometres north of the town of Albert.  Like Vimy Ridge, this is a well visited site, with student guides and a visitors centre.  This was quite a contrast to the many cemeteries we’d been to, where we were the only visitors.

CIMG8537 Sep 6 2017 Sign to Beaumont Hamel

Sign directing us to Beaumont-Hamel. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The Beaumont Hamel Memorial Park, opened in 1925, is the home of the monument of a bronze caribou, the emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

CIMG8540 Sep 6 2017 Pieter at Beaumont Hamel Memorial

Pieter at the base of the Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

….Alec Peddle served with the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve….

At the base of the caribou statue are three bronze tablets with the names of 800 members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, and the Mercantile Marine.  All of these have no known grave.

Seaman Peddle, who was with the  Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, had been on a ship, the H.M.S. ‘Dirk’, which was torpedoed off the east coast of England on May 28, 1918.  Although Admiralty records state that ‘Dirk’ was a trawler hired in 1917, she was a ferry owned by David MacBrayne, and was used for submarine patrol duties along with her sister ship, the ‘Lochiel’.  As Peddle has no known grave, he is mentioned on the memorial on a panel for the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve.

CIMG8541 Sep 6 2017 Nfld Royal Naval Reserve Memorial

Bronze plaque listing members of the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve who died in WWI and have no known grave. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

CIMG8544 Sep 6 2017 Nfld Royal Naval Reserve Memorial Pieter points to where Alec Peddle is mentioned

Pieter points to Seaman A. Peddle’s name on the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve Plaque. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

While we were at Beaumont-Hamel, we dropped in to say hello to site manager Arlene King, who had kindly arranged for site manager Johanne Gagné to help us out at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial Park.

CIMG8552 Sep 6 2017 Pieter with Arlene King site mgr of Beaumont Hamel

Pieter with site manager Arlene King at the Beaumont Hamel Visitors Centre. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Although the visit to Beaumont-Hamel was not part of the Borden-Carleton Cenotaph Research Project, we were honoured to pay our respects to Seaman Peddle and see this beautiful site.

In the next blog entry we continue our search for the Manitoba Cemetery. Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….Grandcourt Road Cemetery in Farmers Fields

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September 28, 2017.  After a few successful cemetery finds, we decided to make a second attempt at finding Grandcourt Road Cemetery, the burial place of Arthur Leigh COLLETT.  We finally found it in the afternoon on a very narrow path between farm fields, one km south of the village of Grandcourt in the spectacularly beautiful Somme Valley.

CIMG8361 Sep 5 2017 we reach the Somme Valley in France

We reach the Somme Valley in France. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

The Commonwealth Graves Commission write up on the cemetery warned that access was difficult, saying “Please note that parking is difficult.  There is no permanent pathway to the cemetery.  Visitors must cross two fields to reach the cemetery.”  They weren’t kidding!

By “no permanent pathway” they meant you had to drive down a very narrow path which had inches to spare on either side on our small rental car.  We were dwarfed by a cornfield on one side and a potato field on the other.

CIMG8535 Sep 6 2017 corn is higher than car by Grandcourt Road Cemeter

You can see how close we were to the cornfield! (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Needless to say, there was no parking and no way to turn around except to drive backwards!  We simply stopped the car beside the sign pointing to the cemetery and crossed our fingers in the hope that no one would come along down the road or we would be in trouble before anyone saw the car.

The next challenge, now that we found the location, was getting to the cemetery.  It involved crawling up a set of steps to the first field.  One look at the steps, with no railing, and it was clear that only Pieter was attempting this journey.

CIMG8520 Sep 6 Sep 6 2017 steps going up to Grandcourt Road Cemetery

The steps leading up to the fields that one had to cross in order to reach Grandcourt Road Cemetery. The bottom step is inches away from our car! (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

From the top of the steps it was another 500 metres, across two fields, before Pieter reached the cemetery.  Poor Arthur Collett!  From Rhodes Scholar to lie buried in a field in the middle of nowhere!

In one field, the farmer had made a grass path to walk along, in order to reach the cemetery, a thoughtful gesture that was much appreciated.

CIMG8522 Sep 6 2017 grass path leading to Grandcourt Road Cemetery

Grass path across a farmer’s field towards Grandcourt Road Cemetery. The trees in the distance indicate the cemetery location. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

The second field wasn’t as easy to cross.  That farmer found his potatoes more important than providing access to the cemetery, and did not have a grass path.  Luckily for Pieter, it was not raining or he would have been stuck in the mud.

CIMG8523 Sep 6 2017 second field potatoes more important than access to Grandcourt Rd Cemetery

Second farmer’s field did not have a grass path towards Grandcourt Road Cemetery. The trees in the distance indicate the cemetery location. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

Eventually, however, Pieter reached the gates of the cemetery, and learned it was made in the spring of 1917 when the Ancre battlefield was cleared.  There are 391 WWI burials, 108 of them unidentified.  390 are British soldiers, and one, our Lt Arthur Collett, the lone Canadian burial.

CIMG8524 Sep 6 2017 gates of Grandcourt Rd Cemetery

After crossing two farmers’ fields, Pieter reached Grandcourt Road Cemetery. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

Arthur Leigh COLLETT was born December 8, 1888 in Victoria, Prince Edward Island, the son of Ella May Simmons, and was the adopted son of William Henry Collett and Alice M.  Moore.  After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, he went to Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, but shortly afterwards enlisted in the 12th Regiment in September 1914, later transferring to the 8th Battalion of The Gloucestershire Regiment.  According to the King’s College history, he “at once forsook his work at Oxford and enlisted in the Imperial Army.  He served in France with the 8th Gloucesters.”

Arthur Collett 1

Arthur Collett. (Photo courtesy of Heather and Paul Moore Family Collection)

In a Pioneer newspaper article from July 15, 1916, came word of an injury, which he survived. “Mr. W. H. Collett, Victoria, has received a cablegram from London, England, notifying him that his son Lieut. A. L. Collett, was wounded on July 3rd. Lieut. Collett, who is a Rhodes scholar and also an Oxford M.A., went over to England with the First Contingent and was later transferred to the 8th Gloucester Regiment.“

Unfortunately, he died in action on November 18, 1916 during the last day of the Battle of the Ancre.  The Battle of the Ancre, fought against the German 1st Army between November 13 and 18, 1916, was the final large British attack of the Battle of the Somme.

The war diary for November 18, 1916 of the 8th Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment made the following record:  “Formed up in artillery formation preparatory to attack on Western outskirts of. Grandcourt. 6:10 a.m. attack launched, first objective reached and carried. The 10th regiment was right on our right being partially held up our flank was in the air. Casualties: 12 Officers, 283 Other Ranks.”

And so that’s how Arthur Collett ended up in Grandcourt Road Cemetery, sharing a grave with an unknown soldier.

CIMG8528 Sep 6 2017 grave of Arthur Collett at Grandcourt Rd Cemetery

Grave of Arthur Collett in Grandcourt Road Cemetery. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

After placing the flags by Collett’s grave, Pieter had to retrace his steps back across two fields and down the narrow steps, then squeeze himself into the small space between the steps and the car.  Then we had to gingerly inch our way back out onto an actual road.  We were lucky.  No one came onto the path while we were there!

Grandcourt Road Cemetery is difficult to access, and requires a lot of time, determination, and a good level of physical fitness.  Consequently, it’s not well visited.  Pieter wrote in the Guest Register and noted the previous entry was dated four months earlier.

In the next blog entry we visit the Newfoundland Memorial at Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Battlefield Memorial Park before we continue our search for the Manitoba Cemetery. Do you have information or photos for Arthur Collett? Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….A Trip To Bellacourt Military Cemetery

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September 27, 2017.  After successfully finding our way to a number of cemeteries in France, we were growing more confident.  Next on our list was to find the Bellacourt Military Cemetery in Riviere, 10 km southwest of Arras, the burial place of two soldiers listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion in Prince Edward Island – Patrick Phillip DEEGAN (aka DEIGHAN) and Percy FARRAR (aka FARROW).  Both men died in the same area, about 5 km south of Arras.

All of the Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries have a stone fence around them, and inside the cemeteries there is green grass, and the graves all have a white headstone of the same shape and size.  In each cemetery there is a Cross of Remembrance and a memorial stone.  Most of the time there is also a sign on the road directing you to the cemetery.

CIMG8501 Sep 6 2017 Sign for Bellacourt Military Cemetery

Sign giving directions to the turnoff to Bellacourt Military Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In each of the cemeteries we’d been to so far, we’ve been the only visitors, and Bellacourt was no different.  Most of the cemeteries we’d seen had been surrounded by farm fields.  Bellacourt, however, is near a waste collection centre!  Luckily, it’s not visible from the cemetery.

CIMG8502 Sep 6 2017 Bellacourt Military Cemetery

Bellacourt Military Cemetery. The graves marked with crosses only are French burials. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

According to the information provided by the Commonwealth Graves Commission, the cemetery began by French troops in October 1914, and carried on by various British divisions and later by the Canadian Corps.  There are 432 Commonwealth burials in the cemetery, 1 of which is unidentified, and 117 French burials.

At the time of their deaths, both Percy Farrar and Patrick Deegan were with the 26th New Brunswick Battalion. 

….Patrick Deegan was born in Cape Traverse, Prince Edward Island….

Private Patrick Phillip Deegan was born November 25, 1894 in Cape Traverse, Prince Edward Island, the son of Alexander Deegan and Margaret Anne Tierney.

Deegan, Patrick Phillip

Patrick Phillip Deegan. (Photo from Lest We Forget Project in Credit Union Place in Summerside. )

A clerk employed by Messrs. R. T. Holman, & Co. before the war, Deegan had twice been turned down for enlistment before being accepted as part of a reinforcement draft with the 105th Draft Regiment in 1916.  In his obituary in the May 4, 1918 Agriculturalist publication, “In the 105th he quickly was raised to Corporal and instructor in musketry but in order to get to the front he sacrificed his stripes, and went over about two months ago.”

On April 21, 1918, Deegan was instantly killed in action by an explosion of an enemy shell in the trenches in the vicinity of Mercatel, 11 km east of the cemetery.

CIMG8507 Sep 6 2017 Pieter by grave of Patrick Deegan at Bellacourt Military Cemetery

Pieter by the grave of Patrick Deegan at Bellacourt Military Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

….Percy Farrar was born in North Tryon, Prince Edward Island….

Percy Farrar (sometimes spelled Farrow) was born July 30, 1895 in North Tryon, Prince Edward Island, the son of William Farrar and Margaret Jane McKinnon, and enlisted in October 1915.

Percy Farrar

Percy Farrar. (Photo courtesy of South Shore United Church in Tryon.)

Like Deegan, he died in the vicinity of Mercatel, two months after Deegan, on June 23, 1918, during German Spring Offensives on the Western Front.

CIMG8512 Sep 6 2017 Grave of Percy Farrar at Bellacourt Military Cemetery

Grave of Percy Farrar at Bellacourt Military Cemetery. (Photo credit: Pieter Valkenburg)

After Farrar’s death, his family moved to California.  The San Diego Union newspaper of March 13, 1921 noted that Farrar had died “while manning a machine gun”.   The newspaper noted that Farrar’s father received “two memorial scrolls from Buckingham Palace, London, in commemoration of the death of his son, Percy Earle Farrar, who was killed in action in the World War on the western front in France, June 23, 1918.”  One of the scrolls was signed by King George of England and stated that “I join with my grateful people in sending you this memorial of a brave life given for others in the great war.”

CIMG8517 Sep 6 2017 Daria writes in the guest register at Bellacourt Military Cemetery

We always write the names of the soldiers we’ve come to pay our respects to in the Guest Register. Daria enters the information at Bellacourt Military Cemetery (Photo credit Pieter Valkenburg)

In the next blog entry we continue our search for the Manitoba and Grandcourt cemeteries. Do you have information or photos for Patrick Phillip Deegan (Deighan) and Percy Farrar (Farrow)? Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

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On The War Memorial Trail….We Visit Bac-Du-Sud British Cemetery To Honour James Ambrose Cairns

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September 25, 2017.  Arras, France was our home base for our trips in and around the Vimy area.  Our hotel was across from the train station.  In front of the station was a plaza with restaurants surrounding it.  Of course, we took a stroll to see what was there.

CIMG8262 Sep 4 2017 Pieter on the street in Arras

Pieter in Arras. On the left is the plaza. We took a stroll to see which of the many cafes took our fancy. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

If we still had the idea that war memorials were only in cemeteries and in the countryside, we had a reality check as soon as we ventured outside the hotel.  In the plaza, across from the train station, is a large memorial to the people of Arras who lost their lives in the war.

CIMG8263 Sep 4 2017 Pieter at monument opposite the train station in Arras

Pieter by the memorial to the fallen citizens in Arras. On the left is the plaza. We took a stroll to see which of the many cafes took our fancy. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

CIMG8264 Sep 4 2017 monument opposite the train station in Arras

The memorial in the plaza in Arras to the fallen citizens also honours the soldiers of France. The inscription says: The French Soldier. Yesterday a soldier of God, today a soldier of humanity, will always be a soldier of law. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The memorials and cemeteries made us more determined than ever to honour the memories of as many of the soldiers on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion in Prince Edward Island that we could while we were in Europe.  After we left the Ligny Saint-Flochel British Cemetery, we made our way to Bac-Du-Sud British Cemetery where James Ambrose CAIRNS is buried.

It was our first clue that visiting cemeteries can be a challenge. Bac-Du-Sud British Cemetery in Bailleulval, 13 km southwest of Arras, is just on the side of very busy highway, the N25.  If you think of a highway shoulder and widen the space slightly, you have an idea how we were parked. There are no actual parking spots, just the gate to the cemetery off the side of the highway.  Around the cemetery is a farmer’s field.

CIMG8491 Sep 6 2017 Bac Du Sud British cemetery where James A Cairns is buried

Pieter at Bac-Du-Sud British Cemetery, where James Ambrose Cairns is buried. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

CIMG8492 Sep 6 2017 Bac Du Sud British cemetery where James A Cairns is buried

Pieter places flags at the grave of James Ambrose Cairns in Bac-Du-Sud British Cemetery. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

The cemetery has 688 WWI Commonwealth graves, of which 4 are unidentified, and 55 German graves.  According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the cemetery began in March 1918 by the 7th, 20th, and 43rd Casualty Clearing Stations, but when Germans advanced at the end of March 1918, their place was taken by field ambulances of the units fighting on the Arras front, notably the 31st Division and the Canadian Corps.  In August and September 1918, once the Germans had been pushed back, the 45th and 46th Casualty Clearing Stations were posted here.

James Ambrose CAIRNS, son of Terrence Cairns and Elisabeth Hughes, was born March 16, 1895 in Emerald, PEI.  He was killed in action near Neuville – Vitasse (raid on ‘The Maze’) on June 13, 1918.  Neuville-Vitasse, 16.6 km from Bailleulval, was a village under the control of the Germans.  To protect their position, the Germans had a series of trenches, referred to as ‘The Maze’, on the outskirts of the village.  It was during a raid on these trenches that Cairns lost his life.

Although we have not been able to find a photo of James Ambrose Cairns, we were lucky to have an account of what happened from the Canada War Graves Register Circumstances of death:  Cairns “was one of a carrying party in the frontline trench, when an enemy shell burst nearby, fragments of the shell striking him in the head and body, inflicting fatal wounds. He was immediately taken to a Dressing station and later to the Canadian 4th Field ambulance where he died of his wounds the next morning.”

An obituary in the Summerside Journal of September 11, 1918 gave a bit more information on what happened, as well as a few highlights of Cairns’ life and career in banking: “On the evening of June 12th, Pte. James A. Cairns was borne from the field of battle in France to a dressing station severely wounded. He was doing duty in a front line trench, being at the time one of a party, who were carrying out a dead comrade, when an enemy shell burst nearby inflicting fatal wounds, fragments of the shell striking him in the head and body. He was immediately taken out to a dressing station and died the next morning at No 4 Canadian Field Ambulance.

Pte. Cairns was 23 years of age at the time of his death. He enlisted when he was 21 years of age in Liverpool where he was one of the staff of the Royal Bank of Canada. He went to Lieutenant’s training school where he obtained his diploma but did not get a commission. He crossed to England in October 1916, and was held in reserve for some time, but growing eager to get to France he went as a private and was in action three months before his death. He worked in the Royal Bank of Canada in Summerside for three years, also in Tyne Valley, before being transferred to Liverpool, N.S.”

CIMG8494 Sep 6 2017 Pieter by the grave of James A Cairns in Bac Du Sud British cemetery

Pieter by the grave of James Ambrose Cairns in Bac-Du-Sud British Cemetery after placing the flags of Canada, PEI, and Canada 150. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

In the next blog entry we visit Bellacourt Military Cemetery before continuing our search for the Manitoba and Grandcourt cemeteries. Do you have information or photos for James Ambrose Cairns?  Comments or stories?  You can share them by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

© Daria Valkenburg

….Want to follow our research?….

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following our research, you are welcome to do so.  Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/

Front cover OnTheWarMememorialTrailinEurope4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/ 

You are also invited to subscribe to our YouTube Channel: On The War Memorial Trail With Pieter Valkenburg: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ591TyjSheOR-Cb_Gs_5Kw. 

Never miss a posting!  Subscribe below to have each new story from the war memorial trail delivered to your inbox.