La Ville-Aux-Bois British Cemetery

[laughton]

This is another one of the cemeteries that has airmen from the July 1918 German Offensive in the Reims sector. It links back to the topics on the men in DORMANS and the task of trying to account for all the missing airmen so that we can be sure that we have the correct unknowns identified:

• https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/280327-dormans-french-national-cemetery-case-1-unknown-aviators-b15-and-b16/
• https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/281054-dormans-french-national-cemetery-case-2-unknown-aviator-b4/

There are also other related topics but those are the main ones.

 

Here are the burial records that I have compiled and put on the Shared MediaFire Site for all to use:

• La Ville-Aux-Bois British Cemetery Shared MediaFire Site
  • GRRF 2018404-2018464
  • COG-BR 2301638-2301752

 

Here is what the CWGC has to say about the cemetery, to which I will add the trench map coordinates (TMC) from the COG-BR documents:

Quote

La-Ville-Aux-Bois-Les-Pontavert village was captured by the French, after severe fighting, in April 1917; and on the 27th May 1918, the 50th Division was driven from the high ground behind it, in the Battle of the Aisne.

 

The 2nd Devons and the 5th Battery, 45th Brigade, R.F.A., won the Croix de Guerre for their devoted courage on this occasion, and a granite cross, erected by the Devonshire Regiment, stands on the main road near the place where the Battalion was annihilated. The village was completely destroyed.

 

The British Cemetery was made after the Armistice by the addition of isolated graves from a wide area and from the following cemeteries:-

 

• PONTAVERT GERMAN CEMETERY
  • noted on GRRF 2018461 for a Kipling Memorial
     
• SISSONNE GERMAN CEMETERY
  • same as above, noted on GRRF 2018461 for a Kipling Memorial
     
• NOTRE DAME-DE-LIESSE GERMAN CEMETERY
   
• PROUVAIS COMMUNAL CEMETERY GERMAN EXTENSION
  • noted on GRRF 2018462 for a Kipling Memorial
     
• BOUVANCOURT FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERY
  • COG-BR 2301639 Berry-au-Bac 1/20000 217.2 x 289.6 or Soissons 2.K. 15 x 05

 

One further burial was made in 1920.

 

There are now 564 Commonwealth burials of the 1914-18 war commemorated here, of which 413 are unidentified.

 

There is also 2 burials of the 1939-45 war, 1 being an airman of the United Kingdom and 1 being a French Foreign National. Special memorials are erected to four United Kingdom soldiers, known or believed to be buried among them. Other special memorials record the names of 18 others, buried in certain German Cemeteries, whose graves could not be found. (note: they do not list all of them but they did list a few above)

 

• GUIGNICOURT GERMAN CEMETERY Brimont 1/20000 299.6 x 226.9 on COG-BR 2301729 and others in that range, graves numbered
  • odd it is not on the CWGC as there are many graves from this cemetery

 

• COG-BR 2301650 apparently has crosses but it is not marked as a known cemetery at Berry-au-Bac 297.5 x 221.1 - several pages
  • three Unknown Captains, two of the MGC and one of the Rifle Brigade are listed on COG-BR 2301654
  • check if they are the same as on COG-BR 2301684 for special crosses
• a lot of men of the Durham Light Infantry, including a number of Officers - a Captain of COG-BR 2301677
• same for Northumberland Fusiliers
• lots of grave markers in German, many marked "illegible", many with grave numbers
• COG-BR 2301679 - they did name that Major of the North Lancashire Regiment (Darby-Griffith)
• COG-BR 2301695 and SPEC-EXH 2301692 the mother identified the remains of her son, Lt. Col. C. G. Buckle 
• COG-BR 2301723 Captain of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers - known - McAllister

 

I did not find any more airmen in this cemetery.

Edited 10 May , 2020 by laughton
will update as information found

[laughton]

Some case possibilities:

• GRRF 2018407 & COG-BR 2301648 - Lieutenant of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Berry-au-Bac 297.5 x 221.1
  • two (2) candidates from 27 May 1918 - Gibbon & James
  • one (1) from August 1914 would have to be checked as well - Ritchie
• GRRF 2018408, COG-BR 2301654, COG-BR 2301684 relates to the two Captains of the MGC, and they believe they know one of them but which grave?
  • they put him on a Special Memorial GRRF 2018456 and struck out the reference to the specific grave alternatives
• GRRF 2018455 & COG-BR 2301745 a 2nd Lt? of the Worcestershire Regiment, probably Page or Gardner of the 1st Battalion