Don Regiano Posted 22 May , 2016 Share Posted 22 May , 2016 There are some interesting threads on the forum such as smallest cemeteries, places to visit etc. The major centres are all well-known and visited. However, on our recent trip we ventured down to the CWGC cemeteries at Oulchy and Jonchery on the Marne. I know entries in the visitors book is not an indication of who has visited the cemetery but, in the absence of anything better, it could serve as an interesting proxy for numbers. In the cases of Oulchy and Jonchery, there was only one entry in each book prior to ours. I wonder what has been the experience of other members on their visits - or is it just not a topic that carries much interest? Reg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fattyowls Posted 22 May , 2016 Share Posted 22 May , 2016 Reg, I would be intrigued by the answers; good idea. Pete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullbaggie Posted 22 May , 2016 Share Posted 22 May , 2016 There are some interesting threads on the forum such as smallest cemeteries, places to visit etc. The major centres are all well-known and visited. However, on our recent trip we ventured down to the CWGC cemeteries at Oulchy and Jonchery on the Marne. I know entries in the visitors book is not an indication of who has visited the cemetery but, in the absence of anything better, it could serve as an interesting proxy for numbers. In the cases of Oulchy and Jonchery, there was only one entry in each book prior to ours. I wonder what has been the experience of other members on their visits - or is it just not a topic that carries much interest? Reg I aways sign the visitors books at every CWGC that we visit, 1, to show that we care and respect the sacrifice given 2, to allow the button counters that the money is not wasted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 22 May , 2016 Admin Share Posted 22 May , 2016 As most of my battlefield trips are away from the regular "tourist trails" I would say that about 80% of the cemeteries I visit are among the seldom visited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
17107BM Posted 22 May , 2016 Share Posted 22 May , 2016 As it goes there a good few. Derry House , Being a fave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 For anyone unfamiliar with it, here is the cemetery at Oulchy le Chateau. I love this village and area - it really is the land that time forgot: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 How about Soissons as a candidate for the least visited memorial to the missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareth Davies Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 Broomers tried to visit Soissons earlier this year but the gates were locked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tootrock Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 This from the CWGC website: For security reasons, the gates to the Soissons Memorial are permanently locked. Access can be gained via a digital security code which must be entered into the lock on the gate. The access code can be obtained by contacting the France Area Office of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the telephone number below, between the following hours:Monday - Thursday: 08:30 to 16:30Friday: 08:30 to 16:00Saturday and Sunday: Office Closed.Telephone: +33 (0)321217700 Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Ring Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 As it goes there a good few. Derry House , Being a fave Is this just one grave ? Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 No, Derry House is a medium-sized cemetery. The photo shows the part of a bunker that is within the perimeter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Ring Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 Chris.. Thanks for that. I was confused... As usual. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Regiano Posted 23 May , 2016 Author Share Posted 23 May , 2016 I didn't take any long shots of the cemetery at Jonchery but this should give a flavour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Sheldon Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 As a group, the 1918 cemeteries stretching away from around Le Cateau up towards the Belgian border are very under visited. They are full of 18-20 year olds and far too many NCOs with DCMs and MMs, clearly killed setting an example and leading their inexperienced soldiers forward in what was a very dangerous advance. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Regiano Posted 23 May , 2016 Author Share Posted 23 May , 2016 and another of Jonchery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 How about this one - Dadizeele New British Cemetery. I've never seen a soul there except the gardeners. There's even a very impressive bunker in the grounds. Yet it is a short hop from the busloads at Tyne Cot. As a group, the 1918 cemeteries stretching away from around Le Cateau up towards the Belgian border are very under visited. They are full of 18-20 year olds and far too many NCOs with DCMs and MMs, clearly killed setting an example and leading their inexperienced soldiers forward in what was a very dangerous advance. Jack Very true, Jack. The photo I am showing at the foot of the homepage of the LLT (the link to battlefield touring) is one of them. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 And Ledeghem Military Cemetery, also within a few miles of Tyne Cot. It includes some of the earliest British graves in the Ypres area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Baker Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 Kezelberg British Cemetery is nearby, and also seems very little visited. It includes a row of German graves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullbaggie Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 For anyone unfamiliar with it, here is the cemetery at Oulchy le Chateau. I love this village and area - it really is the land that time forgot: 101_0475 - Copy.JPG one of my favorites! 1914 graves and 1918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullbaggie Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 Cuckoo passage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevem49 Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 How about this one - Dadizeele New British Cemetery. I've never seen a soul there except the gardeners. There's even a very impressive bunker in the grounds. Yet it is a short hop from the busloads at Tyne Cot. P6167342 - Copy.JPG Very true, Jack. The photo I am showing at the foot of the homepage of the LLT (the link to battlefield touring) is one of them. http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/ Only 16 kms from Ypres. I visited a few years ago http://www.ypressalient.co.uk/CWGC%20Pages/Dadizeele%20New%20British.htm Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeb01 Posted 23 May , 2016 Share Posted 23 May , 2016 Interested in this post as my grandfather Sergeant William Edward Alexander Butcher died on 29th May 1918 - an acting sergeant in the 1st Lincolns. Initially posted missing presumed killed, the battlion war diary records what must have been an exhausting 4 days of frequent clashes with the enemy, and falling back from one temporary defensive position to another following the major German assault on the Aisne front (Chemin des Dames) beginning on the 27th May 1918. On the day he died the unit was defending some slit trenches on a hill above the River Vesle near a village called Sapicourt. They came under artillery fire, some of which seemed to be coming from behind them, as the enemy penetrated allied lines nearby, nearly cutting off the Lincolns who needed to retreat quickly. My grandfathers name is on the memorial at Soissons, which I've visited twice. There are some Lincolns buried at Jonchery sur Vesle CWGC who died on the 29th May 1918 (you can see the hills around Sapicourt from the cemetary), together with at least one "unknown soldier of the Lincolnshire Regt." I've visited Jonchery CWGC twice and signed the book both times. Interesting to see the railings around the Soissons memorial. On my first visit (good many years ago when I was young and fit) I managed to climb over them, but there were no railings at all on my second visit in about 2007. I've wondered if there have been any detailed threads on the Forum about the Aisne/Vesle campaign in 1918. I think the Lincolns were one of the units (part of the 61st Division?) who were sent to a "quiet" sector following the major German assault on the St Quentin sector in March 1918, and who arrived just in time to be involved in the next major assault. All in all they did very well, against overwhelming German forces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 23 May , 2016 Admin Share Posted 23 May , 2016 http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44335&hl=aisne&page=1 Hello Jeb This might be of interest Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginatian Posted 24 May , 2016 Share Posted 24 May , 2016 (edited) I would think it is the many civilian cemeteries and churchyards that are much, much less visited, even in areas where there are well visited military cemeteries. For example there is Lambres Churchyard, midway between Bethune and St Omer, with one casualty, an unknown Indian soldier. It is on the list of locations in France on the CWGC website but, like others, it has a zero next to it for the number of identified casualties. It will never come up as a result if searching for a specific casualty. I guess many people have driven past the church on their way to or from Calais, especially if avoiding the motorway. There is a small green sign on churchyard wall announcing there is a war grave. It is a well maintained grave and had flowers when I visited here in late 2014. Another example is Mareuil-sur-Ay Communal Cemetery, near Épernay, south of Reims. This area isn't on the itineraries of most war grave visitors. There are two casualties here, but again they are "Unknown" so don't come up in any searches. Even when the casualties are known there are still locations that don't get many visits. Driving back from a holiday to Portugal in 2011 I visited Huelva Roman Catholic Cemetery, where "The Man Who Never Was" from Operation Mincemeat in WW2 is buried. Most visitors to here are probably unaware that adjacent to this large community cemetery is Huelva British Cemetery, where there are three casualties buried - a sailor from WW1 and two airmen from WW2. That this cemetery is locked and you have to get keys from main cemetery office will then deter most people from trying to visit. Some of the staff in the office were even unaware of this other cemetery right next door! The fact that the cemetery was overgrown and neglected indicated to me that very few people ever visit this location, either for the war graves or the others buried here. There's nothing wrong with visiting the principal memorials and cemeteries, which I do. However I find staying off the beaten track and going to these less visited locations much more rewarding. Regards, Ian Edited 24 May , 2016 by imaginatian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeb01 Posted 24 May , 2016 Share Posted 24 May , 2016 Thanks very much Michelle. Interesting, and a few leads to follow up. Earlier post indicates how savage the fighting was over those first few days beginning May 27th 1918. Does anyone know what happens to the CWGC visitor books when they get filled up? Certainly the Jonchery sur Vesle book was different on my second visit (not at all surprising given the years between). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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