Stereoview Paul Posted 13 April Share Posted 13 April I had an overnight stop in the small village of Tinqueux (Near Reims), needing a break from travelling we went for a walk and came across the local cemetery. The graves were generally modern and we noticed that the local council had placed 'condemned' notices on the older graves and many had already been evicted and were unceremoniously piled up in a quiet corner. I then spotted this WW1 grave also with a condemned notice so I have added the details here in case this too gets dumped in the corner. Jean Puet Lieutenant Colonel 52nd (or 42nd - the engraving and plaque conflict) Artillery died 21st February 1915 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 14 April Share Posted 14 April As a MPLF I think he should have a right to rest there in perpetuity, although I don’t think that covers upkeep or making safe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted 14 April Share Posted 14 April There is a voluntary society in France that deals with issues like this: https://le-souvenir-francais.fr/notre-mission/ Perhaps a quick message to them might resolve the problem. I think they deal with making sure that graves of those who died for France (MPLF) are preserved Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stereoview Paul Posted 14 April Author Share Posted 14 April 4 hours ago, Ancre1917 said: There is a voluntary society in France that deals with issues like this: https://le-souvenir-francais.fr/notre-mission/ Perhaps a quick message to them might resolve the problem. I think they deal with making sure that graves of those who died for France (MPLF) are preserved Richard Message sent - thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted 14 April Share Posted 14 April Good luck. Will you let us know how you get on? Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stereoview Paul Posted 14 April Author Share Posted 14 April Just now, Ancre1917 said: Good luck. Will you let us know how you get on? Richard Will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted 14 April Share Posted 14 April Here’s his MPLF citation from Mémoires des Hommes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted 14 April Share Posted 14 April His fiche matricule https://www.archinoe.net/v2/ad17/visualiseur/matricule.html?id=167509402 clearly a professional soldier Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted 15 April Share Posted 15 April Some more information. Looks like he died shortly after being wounded. Thanks to Yves on French Forum pages14-18 Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted 16 April Share Posted 16 April More on how he met his death: Cité à titre posthume à l’ordre de l’armée dans les termes suivants (J.O. 29 mars 1915, p. 1.701) : « PUET, lieutenant-colonel au 42e rég. d’artillerie de campagne : les liaisons téléphoniques de son poste de commandement ayant été interrompues, n’a pas hésité, pour se porter auprès de son chef, à tra-verser une zone battue par des feux d’artillerie intense ; a été tué au cours de ce mouvement. » He was killed crossing an area that was under intense bombardement after the telephone communications with his command post were cut Thanks to Daniel Forum pages 14-18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted 16 April Share Posted 16 April this seems to be a common thing , in smaller villages where space is needed for current residents. We have noticed a few as we have visited many CWGC headstones in churchyards. Many have fallen into disrepair and even have big holes in or the concrete slab broken. We assume the graves that have been abandoned were left as families died out probably around the time of WW2 and no family relations left to tend them. more often now, small corners of cemeteries / churchyards are being put aside for cremation plots. Its good to see the records of poilu are still available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stereoview Paul Posted Thursday at 10:34 Author Share Posted Thursday at 10:34 Positive response from the French. Bonjour, Le Souvenir Français was alerted to the situation and contacted Tinqueux’s city hall in order to preserve this grave. I thank you for the attention paid to combatant memory and for thinking about French Remembrance. Le Souvenir Français is the main memorial association in France. Your support is precious to us at: https://le-souvenir-francais.fr/soutenir-le-souvenir-francais/ Best Regards, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted Thursday at 12:27 Share Posted Thursday at 12:27 Excellent news, n’oublions pas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancre1917 Posted Thursday at 12:40 Share Posted Thursday at 12:40 The Reims and Marne branches of Souvenir Français have also replied and are on the case. Apparently, the local mayor is proving to be somewhat tardy in agreeing to a meeting. There are another 9 MPFL graves in his area that are also under threat, but Lt col Puet seems to be getting most attention. I’ve written to him but had no answer. I’ve also written to the local newspaper, who don’t appear to be interested unfortunately. I’m not sure what else we can do from here The mayor might think we’re a load of interfering Brits perhaps Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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