Villers Bretonneux panel photo wanted

[KennyD]

I would be extremely grateful if someone could photograph the panel at the Villers Bretonneux Memorial which has the Australian 12th Battalion (1st Division, 3rd Brigade) and particularly my Great-Uncle Private Gordon Maudsley Crane.

He died on the Hindenberg Line at the St Quentin Canal on 23rd September 1918 and was buried in the trench near Jeancourt where he had died instantly from an artillery shell impact.

My bucket list includes visiting that memorial one day - and trying to locate Gordon's final resting place (no known grave).

Kind regards,

Ken.

[mva]

Hello from the Somme, I can go in the last week of August (I am not far, but won't be home next week)

kind regards, martine

PS - if you want to come, see here : https://www.dva.gov.au/commemorations-memorials-and-war-graves/office-australian-war-graves/current-projects/sir-john-2

Edited 11 August , 2017 by mva
Link added

[KennyD]

Martine, thank you so very much!  That would be fabulous.

Though an ANZAC Day visit would be extremely moving, I think a visit to the Villers Bretoneux Memorial for me would have to be on the 23rd of September...

 

Kind regards,  Ken.

[mva]

Hello, Ken, I have been in Villers-Bretonneux this morning and can send you pictures. Could you please send me your e-mail address in a private message ?

Kind regards, martine

[KennyD]

Awesome!  Smiling as I send a PM with my email address!

Thank you again, so much, Martine!

Ken.

Edited 30 August , 2017 by KennyD

[KennyD]

Thank you so very much, Martine! 
Those photos are fantastic, and will be shared with the many relatives of Gordon Maudsley Crane who are determined to never let his name be forgotten!
Kind regards,

Kenneth Duus

[WiseMonkey]

Kenny

 

I too have a Great-Great Uncle who died in the area near Jeancourt in September 1918. Similarly, his grave is recorded unknown, but I have been lucky enough to research and locate an approximate last known grave. Our Uncles may have crossed paths as the 10th Bn and 12th worked together "leap frogging" towards the objective of the 18th September offensive from Jeancourt. It was in this action that my Great-Great Uncle was killed. From what you have written I suspect that you have read the Red Cross files for Pte G.M. Crane, in particular, the statement by Lt Radford mentioning Crane being buried in a trench overlooking the St Quentin canal. You have also mentioned Jeancourt, however, if he was at Jeancourt, I suspect that he would have been buried at the cemetery at Jeancourt. I think there may be some confusion as to the Jeancourt reference in the Red Cross reports. I believe that the witness statements referred to the Jeancourt area in general as that is where the Outpost Line battle began on the 18th September 1918. I suspect that the trench mentioned is likely to be somewhere south or south-east of Villeret on the heights overlooking the canal to the East. If you look at the map attached you will find Villeret smack bang in the middle between the brown and red lines (18/9/18 battle phase objectives). You will also find Jeancourt on the map at the bottom left corner. I have a map somewhere of battalion distribution for the 23/09/18 somewhere that I will dig up that might give you a better idea of where to look. 

I wish you well in your research and remembering.

 

Regards

 

P.S. It is interesting to note several different spelling variants of the Mandsley part of the name on the Australian War Memorial website search page ( https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search?query=gordon+crane ). According to the National Archives of Australia, the correct spelling is Gordon Mandsley ( https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3440685 ). The discrepancy in spelling is actually queried in Gordon Crane's service record.

On 11/08/2017 at 22:54, KennyD said:

I would be extremely grateful if someone could photograph the panel at the Villers Bretonneux Memorial which has the Australian 12th Battalion (1st Division, 3rd Brigade) and particularly my Great-Uncle Private Gordon Maudsley Crane.

He died on the Hindenberg Line at the St Quentin Canal on 23rd September 1918 and was buried in the trench near Jeancourt where he had died instantly from an artillery shell impact.

My bucket list includes visiting that memorial one day - and trying to locate Gordon's final resting place (no known grave).

Kind regards,

Ken.

 

Edited 25 August , 2018 by WiseMonkey

[WiseMonkey]

Kenny

 

If you haven't read the Battalion war diary for Septemeber 1918, ( https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1344256?image=1 ) I'd recommend it. Unit Diaries are useful research tools. I've attached a relevant page. It seems that the 12th were relieved of their positions on the 23rd by the Americans. What a case of bad luck, killed in the last day the battalion served in the front line of the war.

 

Some advice if learning to read WW1 military maps is crucial. AWM has a page to explain this. https://www.awm.gov.au/research/guide/maps-references .  This map might be useful. http://digitalarchive.mcmaster.ca/islandora/object/macrepo%3A4074/-/collection. This is a great link to WW1 maps and has a link to finding WW1 map references on a modern google map. 

https://maps.nls.uk/ww1/trenches/index.html

 

I hope this might be useful in your research.