Martinsart tragedy

[Terry Denham]

Picking up on Steven's point of there being sixteen stones and only fourteen men from this incident.

There is one man buried in that row that died on another date. CWGC does not list a sixteenth name and so I assume he is an Unknown.

[Terry Denham]

Presumably because it is one grave. It is likely that there is not a separate grave for each body - or what was left of each after such a devestating event.

[swizz]

I think Terry is likely to be right about the lack of individual graves. One account I have read of this incident - written by a soldier who witnessed it - described body parts being scattered all around the surrounding area. In such circumstances I cannot imagine that it would have been possible to separate out each individual.

Swizz

[markinbelfast]

Thought that i'd share this...strange that a man of the same name from Hillsborough dies two months later (strange when you consider the size of Hillsborough)...I looked at the covenant site and theres a Richard and Richard junior....so wonder could they be related?

[oulman]

I'm new on the Forum, but just to clear a point on the men of the 13th Battalion who died that fateful day. They were not all from Dromore as earlier stated. See image at link below. My Father's Uncle was in the same ill-fated 13th Battalion & was killed on the Somme on 1st July 1916.

http://img295.imageshack.us/my.php?image=13thbngi7.jpg

[oulman]

Another image of the graves.

[tommy mcclimonds]

Folks

Given the date I just wanted to revive this thread today. I think the attached picture will answer a few questions posed about this particular incident. My thanks to a very good friend from Dromore for passing this on to me. I suppose no out there has a better resolution photo than this one?

Regards, Tommy.

"They Are Not Forgotten"

[tommy mcclimonds]

Folks

I thought I would share with you the following short anonymous poem which appeared in an article about the Martinsart tragedy in one of our local Co Down newspapers in July 1916 it was entitled;

"Where Sleep The Brave".

We may guard the grave that holds you,

As a shrine of truth,

Lighted by the pure devotion,

Of your radiant youth;

We, you died for, may forget you!

You will have no care,

Who, content, tonight are sleeping –

Painlees, dreamless there!

Regards, Tommy.

"They Are Not Forgotten"

[pietro]

Just reviving this thread as I've been researching Major Robert Perceval-Maxwell. Since he was wounded he would have been sent to a dressing station, I presume, and Nugent's letters of the time suggest that he would miss the big battle on 1 July. Could he still have been at the Front, though again I presume not fighting on 1 July?

Can anyone suggest how I could find his movements after the injury? I found his name in the local paper for 22 July as being injured and home from the front. I can't find his service record on Ancestry, nor do his letters in Public Records cover it.

TIA

Peter

[NAH]

I know 3 streets off Cregagh Rd in Belfast are Thiepval, Somme and Albert Drive, but I presume they were council named when they were being built. I must check sometime to see if any of the houses have particular names on them too.

Peter

Peter I questioned an employee of Castlereagh Council about the houses on the Cregagh Road, all she could tell me was that they were part of a "Homes for Heroes" drive after the Great War, a lot of the men lived in hovels and it was decided this was not fit after the sacrifice that was made. All the homes were allocated to Servicemen and are built in the Belgian style as Im sure you noticed the differences in the other houses of the area. The Wandsworth Branch RBL hold a service at the UDR/RUC Memorial that stands in the centre of the area. Do you know the area well? William McFadzeans Home wasn't far from here and there is a memorial to him in a nearby church (1st Newtownbreda I think its called)

Sorry for the delay in posting but this forum is just massive will take me forever filtering through the NI related posts.

I will be at the Somme in a few weeks if anyone wants an up to date photo of the Cemetery.

[pietro]

Thanks for the reply! It s good to know that they were built for the ex servicemen. I must take a drive that way and check out the house design. Its not an area I know particularly well - I'm not from the city.

Good to hear you're heading for the Somme, I was there about a month ago and was at the cemetery in Martinsart. We also managed to join in for Teddy's tour of Thiepval wood as well as a cup of tea at the Tower.

Peter

[hen190782]

1922 Newspaper Picture of the graves:

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=182981&hl=martinsart

[janette1910]

I would like to revive this topic. My Great Uncle Francis Cheevers was part of C Coy 13 Btn from Killyleagh, after the war my Grandfather was told that he was killed at the Somme when a shell hit his battalion, but his death is recorded as 1 Jul 16 and is commemorated on the Thiepval. My grandfather never felt that he had died going over the top, I have been researching this for the past 5 years and recently found this site. Is there any were that has not been mentioned that I could look. I am going back to the Somme for the 14th time in Jul so any help would be appreciated.

Janette