Chauny Communal Cemetery British Extension

[laughton]

An interesting cemetery, as it has a number of Canadians from the Cavalry that went to the assistance of the British after the start of Operation Michael on 21 March 1918. I was not aware of the particular location of a number of those from the Royal Canadian Dragoons. It is also the home to the "Canadian Puzzle" (see end of this post)

 

The CWGC ZIP FIles are now here:

 

• F7 C2 CWGC Binders: Chauny Communal Cemetery British Extension
  • http://www.mediafire.com/file/wth18c5icbx3101/GRRF_1982914-1983034.zip/file
  • http://www.mediafire.com/file/6p9s8wvk9mt1wjk/COG-BR_2133489-2133659.zip/file
  • http://www.mediafire.com/file/5df6w2mni879kfr/COG-BR_2786701-2786759.zip/file

 

Note that there are two separate sets of COG-BR documents, the smaller one (last on list) holding most of the Canadians. Not sure why.

 

Details from the CWGC to which I will add the coordinates for all the concentration locations:

 

Quote

The Extension was made after the Armistice for the burial of remains brought in from the battlefields of the Aisne and from the following smaller cemeteries in the surrounding countryside:-

 

• CHARMES COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION (Aisne) 70d.C.2.b.9.3 COG-BR 2133590, where 14 soldiers were buried by their comrades in June and July, 1918.
  • also NW Europe Sheet 4 9.F.80.90 COG-BR 2133591
  • many starting at this page COG-BR 2133594 marked as "J. K. List"?
• CHAUNY FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY (Aisne), where two British soldiers were buried in January and March, 1918.
• CHAUNY GERMAN NATIONAL CEMETERY (Aisne), which contained 15 British graves of March-July, 1918.
• COUCHY-LE-CHATEAU GERMAN CEMETERY (Aisne), where six British soldiers were buried in August, 1918.
• CRECY-SUR-SERRE GERMAN CEMETERY (Aisne) 66c.R.28.b.1.7 COG-BR 2133600, where 53 British soldiers were buried, mainly by the Germans, in March-September, 1918.
  • the graves are marked with both French and German grave numbers, which are different
  • also a CRECY-AU-MONT MILITARY CEMETERY 70d.T.21.b.5.9 COG-BR 2133607 (not on the CWGC page)
• JAULZY CHURCHYARD (Oise) SOISSONS 22 1/100.000 2.A.75.72 COG-BR 2133636, where a British soldier was buried in August, 1914.
  • this one has a SPEC-EXH 2133637 16th Lancers 31-8-1914, two of sixteen in 1914 unknown (CWGC LINK)
• LA BOVETTE GERMAN CEMETERY, FOURDRAIN (Aisne) NW Europe Sheet 4 9.G.20.60 COG-BR 2133589 COG-BR 2133591, where one British soldier was buried in March, 1918.
• LA FERE COMMUNAL CEMETERY (Aisne) NW Europe Sheet 4 8.F.50.00 COG-BR 2133592, which contained three British graves of August, 1914.
• LANCHY CHURCHYARD (Aisne) 66d.E.2.b.1.8 COG-BR 2133639 which contained two British graves of April, 1917.
• LE TROU-FOURCY GERMAN CEMETERY, SUZY (Aisne), which contained six British burials of August, 1918; two of these were moved to Grand-Seraucourt British Cemetery.
• MENNESSIS COMMUNAL CEMETERY (Aisne), where one British soldier was buried in March, 1918.
• PREMONTRE COMMUNAL CEMETERY (Aisne) 70d.O.11.d.8.9 COG-BR 2133599, which contained two British burials of July and August, 1918.
• SEMPIGNY CHURCHYARD (Oise) 70e.J.31.d.4.4 COG-BR 2133612, which contained a British burial of August, 1914.
• VERSIGNY GERMAN CEMETERY (Aisne) 66c.V.25.b.5.4 COG-BR 2133597, which contained three British burials of August, 1918.
• VILLEQUIER-AUMONT GERMAN CEMETERY (Aisne), where six British soldiers were buried in March, 1918.
• VILLEQUIER-AUMONT COMMUNAL CEMETERY (Aisne), where one British soldier was buried in a private vault.

 

There are just over 1,000, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The majority of them died in 1918; most of the rest died in September, 1914. Included the total figure are 6 soldiers of the United Kingdom whose identity had been established with reasonable, but not absolute certainty and who are commemorated by special memorial headstones bearing the superscription 'Believed to be', and 26 soldiers of the United Kingdom and 5 of Canada whose graves could be identified collectively but not individually and who are commemorated by special memorial headstones bearing the superscription 'Buried near this spot' (COG-BR 2786709 and COG-BR 2786711).

 

There are also 26 soldiers of the United Kingdom who are commemorated in the cemetery as follows: 22 who were buried at the time in MENNESSIS and PREMONTRE Communal cemeteries and in the former German cemeteries at Crecy-sur-Serre, Villequier-Aumont, Versigny, Couchy-le-Chateau, Fourdrain and Suzy and whose graves are lost are commemorated by special memorial headstones inscribed to that effect, with the additional inscription 'Their glory shall not be blotted out'; 3 are commemorated by special memorial headstones bearing the superscription 'Believed to be buried in this cemetery'; and one, whose grave is known to be in the cemetery although the exact place of burial could not be established, is commemorated by a special memorial headstone inscribed 'Buried in this cemetery'. The Cemetery Extension covers an area of 3,729 square metres.

 

There are also a number of individual locations and burial sites marked with NW Europe Sheet 4 trench map coordinates. Some of these documents also name the community, such as Frieres-Faillouel (we know that to be 62c.S.4.a.6.4), which is marked on COG-BR 2133593 aws NW Europe Sheet 4 8.E.90.25. Also Soissons (also sometimes SOISSONS 22) 1/100,000 COG-BR 2133608, ST. QUENTIN 1/100,000 COG-BR 2133613.

 

There is a significant Canadian puzzle in this cemetery that we are trying to solve - help us if you can! One of the dead is Captain Alick Gregory Martin, MC of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. He was attached to the 9th (Service) Battalion of the Rifle Brigade and KIA on 23 March 1918. He was first wounded at Bellewaerde Ridge on 8 May 1915, the same day as my grandfather, also serving in the PPCLI. His death with the 9th Bn of Rifle Brigade is recorded (war diary page 685 of 744).

 

The puzzle relates to his "Servant" (Batman) that was killed with him, as reported on page 145 of Norm Christie's book "Sacred Places, V II". Sure enough, the grave of the unknown PPCLI man is in Plot 3 Row L Grave 7 and Captain Martin is in Grave 12 (GRRF 1982987 and COG-BR 2133553). The problem is that there are no other PPCLI missing in that period and that area. We have even checked those that might have the PPCLI as the "Secondary Regiment" and vice versa.

 

There must have been something very clear about the man being PPCLI as they did not change the records to UCS and the headstone remains in place to this day.   The COG-BR states that the identification as to PPCLI was on the basis of the "Uniform and Buttons".

 

On a "long shot" I even checked to see if he took one of the Servants from Ledbury's "Upper Hall" and put him in a PPCLI uniform. No name matches for anyone on that list (Upper Hall Household & Servants). There is a good topic on "Batmen/Servants" that I found, so I posted this question there as well - could be be a civilian servant or a Rifle Brigade man in PPCLI kit (this link)?

 

The RFC Air Mechanic of 28 March 1918 in 2.H.12 was identified (COG-BR 2786727), as was the MAJOR in 3.H.8 (COG-BR 2786731).

 

The two (2) UNKNOWN Lord Strathcona's Horse (Canadian) are posted to the CEFSG 15861, with details, as there was only three missing and one was separated from the other two.

 

Edited 1 April , 2019 by laughton
Updating TMC for cemeteries found on COG-BR ....