Unknown Warrior-Choice of Bleuet Farm Cemetery

[Mark Hone]

I am planning to include the story of the selection of the British Unknown Warrior in my October battlefields tour and as a central theme of my associated Remembrance Assemblies. I have the short but informative book by Michael Gavaghan about the Unknown Warrior, in which he mentions in a footnote that the Ypres sector body was chosen from Bleuet Farm Cemetery near Eleverdinghe.  Does anyone know what this particular cemetery was selected? Prima facie, it might not seem an obvious candidate for choosing an unidentified body as it was originally the burial ground for a dressing station. As the CWGC records indicate that only a couple of outlying burials were brought there after the war, one might think that most of the interments there were of identified soldiers. Unfortunately, the CWGC database does not give a figure for the number of unidentified burials there. The burials at Bleuet Farm are also from the latter part of the war and Gavaghan indicates that amongst the original criteria for selection was the idea that the body should be from the early years of the conflict. 

Edited 16 February , 2020 by Mark Hone

[kenf48]

1 hour ago, Mark Hone said:

I have the short but informative book by Michael Gavaghan about the Unknown Warrior, in which he mentions in a footnote that the Ypres sector body was chosen from Bleuet Farm Cemetery near Eleverdinghe. 

 

It would be interesting to see the reference for this.  The whole operation was conducted in such a way that there was no possibility of identification and the bodies brought from each battlefield arrived at Wyattt's GHQ at widely separated times so that there was no possibility of the burial parties conferring as to where each of the bodies had been retrieved from.  The Abbey authorities had also insisted that decomposition was advanced,the bodies brought for selection were' mere bones'.  

 

Ken

[Mark Hone]

There  are clearly a number of mysteries still associated with the choosing of the Unknown Warrior, which is perhaps as it should be. Gavaghan says that it is, for example, unclear exactly what happened to the bodies which were not selected. 

A sudden brainwave led me to examine my back issues of 'After the Battle' magazine. This exhaustively-researched publication, now running for over 45 years, focuses mainly on World War II but has published occasional articles about the Great War. In issue Number 6, from 1974, there is a well-illustrated article on the Unknown Warrior. The article is not fully referenced, but the author refers to a Captain Brooks from Henfield in Sussex, of Company 68 of the Graves Registration Unit, who escorted one of the bodies to St Pol. When the Union Flag originally used to cover the body of the Warrior was found to be too small, it was apparently retained by Captain Brooks and was (in 1974) in the possession of the Royal British Legion in Henfield.  'After the Battle' reproduces a photograph of the flag draped on the Henfield War Memorial. However, there is also a picture of a portion of Bleuet Farm Cemetery, taken after the original wooden crosses were replaced by headstones, labelled: 'Captain Brooks' photograph of Bleuet Farm Cemetery at Elverdinghe (with Bleuet Farm in the background). His party removed a body from an unknown grave midway between the tree and the first row of graves to take to St Pol. The bodies were confirmed to be British by their boots and buttons'. 

The author of the ATB article goes on to state that it was categorically not his intention to try to trace the identity of the Warrior, even though several people over the years have claimed to know who it was. This would , in any case, be impossible, as 'Brigadier Wyatt has said that the bodies were mostly bones ... and were sealed in sacks when taken to St. Pol'. The article records that the bodies not selected were reburied in St Pol Cemetery and reproduces a picture showing the headstones of the graves concerned. 

Looking at Gavaghan again, I notice that he does include the ATB article in his list of references at the back, which I missed when I looked at it originally. It is therefore from this source that Gavaghan probably got the idea that Bleuet Farm was used. The online index for 'After the Battle' indicates that there was further mention of the British Unknown Warrior in issue 86 but unfortunately I don't have a copy of that to hand. 

Edited 16 February , 2020 by Mark Hone

[Malcolm Linham]

Mark 

 

 ATB 86 only makes a passing mention of the Unknown Warrior the article is about the selection and re burial of the Australian unknown soldier.

 

Malcolm 

  

[Mark Hone]

Thanks. I remember that article now. I used it as information about other Unknown Warriors for a battlefields tour I did a few years ago.

Edited 17 February , 2020 by Mark Hone

[kenf48]

There are a number of threads on the forum.  

 

However, Brigadier-General Wyatt’s account was that, “ Colonel Gell, one of my staff announced that the men who had brought them had gone.  With Colonel Gell, passing the guard which had been specially mounted, I thereupon entered the Chapel.  The four bodies lay on stretchers each covered by a Union Jack.”  He goes on to describe how he and Colonel Gell put the body in the coffin shell.   We know that the remains were then taken over and the shell placed in the iron banded coffin which was covered by Railton’s ‘Padre’s Flag’.  As it was essentially his idea, it was always his intention that flag would be used.

Post 13

This account therefore begs the questions, if the men who had brought the bodies in had gone how did Captain Brooks know the Union Flag was too small? Too small for what?  If the remains, which the Abbey authorities had insisted should be decomposed, were on identical stretchers, was each flag too small?  What happened to the other three flags?  Apparently Captain Brooks flag had been hidden in Belgium until 1950 when it was returned to England and given to the British Legion at Henfield.  It’s a nice story but doesn’t chime with what is known.  

 

As for Bleuet Farm others have also questioned the validity of the claim given, as  noted,  that the earliest burial was June 1917.  As Neil Hanson points out it suited the Army to go along with the Abbey’s demands regarding decomposition as recovering the bodies from the 1914 battlefield(s) ensured it was a British soldier. 

 

Ken

[Mark Hone]

Ken, thanks for pointing out the discussion of Bleuet Farm contained within that thread from last year. I missed it at the time. The fact that the story was in early editions of 'Before Endeavours Fade' is not surprising given that the book is published by 'After the Battle'. My copy is an edition from the early 1980s but is unfortunately not with me at the moment. Interesting that the story seems to have been removed from later editions by Rose Coombs herself. A pity that neither she, nor the great Tony Spagnoly, whom I had the privilege of meeting on WFA tours, are here to ask about it. 

Edited 17 February , 2020 by Mark Hone

[kenf48]

I have the 5th Edition of BEF (Signed) from 1986 and while the Unknown Warrior is, rightly, mentioned in the context of St Pol all that is written for Bleuet Farm is that, ‘used as a dressing station during the 1917 battles’.

 

Ken

 

[Mark Hone]

Ken, the earlier thread you referred me to mentions an article in the December 2018 edition of 'Stand To!' about the Unknown Warrior.  The November 2018 ST Armistice Special edition contains no article on the topic so I assume that the poster actually meant the December 2018 WFA Bulletin. Needless to say, I can't find that edition of the Bulletin in my 'filing system' at the moment. Does anyone know if it contains any material pertaining to this discussion? 

[towisuk]

Just a thought..... the three bodies buried near the Albert - Bapaume road....when they were "discovered" how did they know that they were British and not German... with bodies littering the battlefields and no means of identification anything could happen...

regards

Tom

Edited 25 February , 2020 by towisuk

[Mark Hone]

Unfortunately, my plans to include the story of the Unknown Warrior on my October 2020 school battlefields tour did not materialise, as the trip had to be cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. However, I plan to use the Unknown Warrior as the main theme of my Remembrance Assembly on 11th November. A special edition of 'Stand To!' magazine to commemorate the Centenary has been announced but I don't think that it will be available for a few weeks yet.