Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz

[laughton]

This comes as a result of other men of the Leicestershire Regiment found at the Serre Road Cemetery No. 2 (see this topic). I had not previously looked at this cemetery (CWGC Link), so the COG-BR and GRRF documents were collected and are now available here:

 

Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz

 

The initial burials here probably came from those that died at the dressing station at Flatiron Copse, to the east of Mametz Wood. You can see it on the McMaster {Bapaume] 57c Map. Sabot Copse, a little larger, is just to the north. After the armistice another 1,100 graves were brought in from the battlefields and smaller cemeteries, so this is a heavy concentration cemetery. I have taken the CWGC information and edited to identify the other cemeteries, including the addition of trench map coordinates where available.

 

Quote

Flatiron Copse was the name given by the army to a small plantation a little to the east of Mametz Wood. The ground was taken by the 3rd and 7th Divisions on 14 July 1916 and an advanced dressing station was established at the copse. The cemetery was begun later that month and it remained in use until April 1917. Two further burials were made in August 1918 and after the Armistice, more than 1,100 graves were brought in from the neighbouring battlefields and from smaller cemeteries, including:-

 

1. CATERPILLAR CEMETERY, MONTAUBAN 57c.S.27.a.2.8, in "Caterpillar Wood". It contained the graves of 21 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in July 1916, and of whom 12 belonged to the 6th and 7th Gordons.
    
2. CROSS ROADS CEMETERY, BAZENTIN 57c.S.15.a.9.8, near the cross-roads at the North end of Bazentin-le-Grand. Here were buried 15 soldiers from the United Kingdom and four from New Zealand, who fell in 1916-1917.
    
3. MAMETZ WOOD CEMETERY (DESTROYED - see text below GRRF 2002101), outside the Western edge of Mametz Wood, in which 18 soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried in 1916.
4. QUADRANGLE CEMETERY, BAZENTIN 57c.X.23.b.2.2, between Bottom Wood and Mametz Wood, named from a small rectangular copse. Here were buried, in 1916, 32 soldiers from the United Kingdom and three from Australia, of whom 22 were artillerymen.
    
5. VALLEY CEMETERY, MONTAUBAN 62c.A.5.b.6.0, between the Briqueterie and Maltzhorn Farm, in which 72 soldiers from the United Kingdom were buried in August and September, 1916.
    
6. VILLA WOOD CEMETERIES No.1 and No.2, CONTALMAISON 57d.X.12.c.40.55, near a small copse North of Mametz Wood. They contained the graves of 62 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in 1916.
    

Almost all the concentrated graves are those of men who died in the summer and autumn of 1916. There are now 1,572 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 420 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 36 casualties known or believed to be buried among them, and nine buried in Mametz Wood Cemetery whose graves were destroyed by shell fire.

 

 

Edited 10 August , 2018 by laughton

[laughton]

Some of notice:

• 6.B.8: COG-BR 2002216 and GRRF 2002042 - Unknown Captain Machine Gun Corps 57d.X.18.d.5.2 (must be a.5.2 as no d on edge of map), west edge Mametz Wood. There are three (3) on the Thiepval Memorial for 1916, two (2) on the Cambrai Memorial for 1917, and one (1) on the Arras Memorial for 1918. An early guess is someone from the 114th, 115th or 116th Brigade (38th Welsh Division) in July 1916. I will need to learn about the MGC to solve this one AND how the CWGC classified them! He is with some lads of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers (113th Brigade 38th Division).
  • there is a Captain E. D. Job of the 38th "Division" MGC in Plot 3 Row C Grave 11 (COG-BR 2002255)
  • there is a BTB 150th MGC with a Special Cross (GRRF 2002103)
     
• I believe that there was an UNKNOWN 2 Lt and here is one as BTB - see if they match (GRRF 2002098)
   
• check where Lt. Abbott (7th Leicestershire) might be buried - check war diary to get the TMC and compare locations (GRRF 2002095)
   
• more to follow ... it appears there are no more!

 

Interesting that there were a number of BTB (Believed to Be Buried) crosses in this cemetery that were removed when the remains were later found to be buried in Serre Road Cemetery No. 2., the cemetery of point that started the search in this cemetery (such as GRRF 2002088).

Edited 13 August , 2018 by laughton
added word "Division" for Captain Job

[laughton]

For details on the first case above, the Machine Gun Captain, please go to:

 

Flatiron Copse Cemetery Case #1: Captain Machine Gun Corps