Grandcourt Road Cemetery

On the War Memorial Trail …..WWI Soldier Arthur Collett’s Bible

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April 2, 2018.  On March 25, Pieter was invited to give a presentation about the Cenotaph Research Project at Central Trinity United Church in Breadalbane.  In addition to preparing a slideshow of interesting photos to complement the talk about the research on the soldiers listed on the cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, we had posters made of the Cenotaph photo and two of the articles published in the County Line Courier.  These posters were put on display, and will be used in future presentations.

Pieter Valkenburg and Mike Smith with Cenotaph poster and Muttart poster

Pieter on the left with County Line Publisher Mike Smith. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

We received a very warm welcome from everyone, and enjoyed the delicious potluck dinner that preceded the talk.  The presentation was well received, with a lively question and answer session after the presentation.  Jack and Arlene Sorensen of the Tryon & Area Historical Society attended, and accepted donations to the “Muttart Memorial Fund”.

Pieter Valkenburg at the podium in Breadalbane

Pieter at the podium at Central Trinity United Church in Breadalbane. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

One of the people who attended the presentation was Joyce Loo of Springfied.  When an article about Arthur Leigh COLLETT ran in the County Line Courier last fall, Joyce contacted us with additional information.   (See the same article published in Summerside Citizen (Sside Citizen Nov 15 2017 p15 Cemetery in a potato field in France) and our earlier blog entry: Grandcourt Road Cemetery in Farmers Fields)

Mrs. Loo, nee Haslam, wrote us that: “I am very interested in your article in the County Line Courier about Arthur Collett. He taught my mother in Springfield School. He boarded with Louis Haslam and family. I now live in that house and found his Greek Bible in the attic. My mother liked him very much as a teacher and she knew he had died in France.”

Until receiving this email, Pieter had not found any information that Arthur Collett had taught on PEI before completing his education at King’s College in Nova Scotia and receiving his Rhodes scholarship to Oxford.  After contacting King’s College, Pieter received a reply and information from the University Librarian, Jennifer Adams.

From the information from March-April 1913 issue of ‘The Record’, a student magazine that later become the yearbook for King’s College, we learned that “…in 1906, on taking a County Scholarship, he entered Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown….. During the years 1906-1908, Mr. Collett was enrolled in H Company of the 82nd Regiment Abegweit Light Infantry….Mr. Collett left Prince of Wales College in 1908, and took up teaching before entering King’s in 1909.”  Mrs. Loo was correct!

In her email, Ms. Adams noted that “In his last year at King’s, Collett was selected as a Rhodes Scholar and was also the Senior Student, equivalent to being head of the student body.”

While at King’s College, Collett had the nickname “Deak” and was briefly on the debating team.

Collett, Arthur Leigh - UKC Debating Team 1912

Arthur Collett on bottom far right in this 1912 photo of King’s College Debating Team. (Photo credit: courtesy of King’s College collection)

Joyce Loo brought the bible she had mentioned in her email, and we were able to see that it was a Greek-Latin bible, most likely part of the literary studies that Collett was enrolled in while at Oxford.  His graduation write-up at King’s College, in “The Record, Encaenia” for 1913 noted that “Throughout his College course, “Deak” has displayed a decided thirst for English, being both a prolific contributor to Haliburton Society and a valued member of the RECORD staff….”

Pieter Valkenburg with Judy and Joyce Loo with Colletts bible

Joyce Loo (centre) with daughter Judy Loo on left and Pieter Valkenburg on right and Collett’s bible. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

Spine of Colletts bible

Spine of Collett’s bible. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

How wonderful it was to meet Joyce Loo and have this opportunity to learn more about WW1 soldier Arthur Leigh Collett!  As we learn more about the soldiers on the Cenotaph from families, books, and letters, we can keep adding to their stories.  This was but one example!  Our heartfelt thanks to Jennifer Adams of University of King’s College for providing the additional information on Arthur Leigh Collett’s life as a student.

All too soon, the first presentation about the Cenotaph Research Project was over, and Pieter was thanked by the event organizer, Evelyn Stewart.

Pieter Valkenburg with Evelyn Stewart after the presentation in Breadalbane

Pieter with Evelyn Stewart of the Cavendish-Breadalbane Fellowship Group. (Photo credit: Daria Valkenburg)

If you have a photo, or information, of Collett’s time at Prince of Wales College, his involvement in H Company of the 82nd Regiment Abegweit Light Infantry, or his brief teaching career, please let us know.

Photos are still needed for many of the names on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion, so please dig out those old albums and take a look. Please share your photos, comments, or stories by emailing us at memorialtrail@gmail.com or by commenting on this blog.

Would you like to have Pieter speak about the Cenotaph Research Project at an upcoming event? If you are interested, email at memorialtrail@gmail.com.

UPDATE:  This project was completed in October 2019!

Donations are still being collected towards the ‘Muttart Memorial Fund’ for a memorial panel in Wons, The Netherlands.  If you would like to donate, cheques may be written out to TAHS and mailed to Tryon & Area Historical Society (TAHS), PO Box 38, Crapaud PE C0A 1J0.  In the subject line, identify your cheque as being for the “Muttart Memorial Fund”.  A charitable donation receipt will be sent to all donors. 

If you wish to donate and you live in Europe:  Bank transfers may be made to Stichting Missing Airmen Memorial Foundation, Bank Account # (IBAN) NL35ABNA0569579856, and state in the subject line “Attn D.S. Drijver for Halifax L9561”.

© 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….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. 

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