Most rewarding cemetery visit

[scragend]

What's the most "rewarding" visit to a war cemetery which you've ever made? (I realise it's a bit of a wide open question)

For me, it was when I was backpacking solo around Italy in August 2003. At the time I was in the process of compiling a "book of remembrance" for my local church, containing photographs of as many of the graves as I could. My dad and I had broken the back of the project in a trip to the Western Front the previous September, but there were still some outlying ones left to visit.

As I was in the same country, I couldn't miss going to Sangro River War Cemetery.

(OK, this is the Second World War, and this is the Great War Forum, but bear with me... )

From Rome, I took a train over to Pescara (a good few hours' trip), then down to a very small place called Torino di Sangro, right on the Adriatic. From there it was a few kilometres' walk up a steep hill to the cemetery.

It was blazing hot weather (clocked 42 degrees C !) and I thought I was never going to make it up the hill. With sweat pouring down my face and stinging my eyes, I had to stop every few yards for a huge gulp of water, but what a beautiful cemetery when I got there. Plus of course the opportunity to pay my respects at the grave of someone from my home town.

I've visited many war cemeteries, but I don't think I've ever been as overcome as when I first set eyes on Sangro River that day. The familiar shape headstones and themes of a CWGC cemetery, but in a setting so far removed from the cemeteries in France & Flanders that I'd been to before. It definitely felt like "some corner of a foreign field".

Daniel

P.S. Pics of Sangro River to follow when I get home. (Must get down to some work )

[John_Hartley]

Difficult one to answer.

I'm tempted to say that it's one of the two cemeteries I've visited where I have great uncles buried.

But I'll go with a visit to Quarry Cemetery, Montauban, on my first trip to the area. I'd come from Maricourt identifying as much as I could of the route taken by 17/Manchester on 1/7/16. I'd stopped and left a wreath at the Liverpool & Manchester Pals memorial in the vilage and then carried on down the road.

Just before Quarry Cemetery is the furthest point reached by the Battalion's "A" Company, in which my grandad (Tom Brough) had served. The cemetery only contains the body of one 17/Manc (killed on 2/7) but, for me on that day, he represented all of them that are still in France.

John

[armourersergeant]

A recent trip to Brookwood Cemetery and all that the 'hunt' entailed made the find of both FM Robertson and Lt-Gen. Snow's graves made it a very rewarding trip.

regards

Arm

[Stephen White]

Mine was in July this year to Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.

Now I have been many times to visit the grave of my Great Grandfather, but my own Father had never been to see the grave of the man who was his Grandfather.

As a late Christmas present I took him over in July to visit the grave an occasion that quite moved him. I left him alone at the graveside for a while so he could have some time to himself.

On the ferry back home he told me that he had taken two small pebbles from the soil next to the headstone, he wanted to put those pebbles into the soil next to my Great Grandfathers, Widows grave, she is buried in Witton Cemetery in Birmingham. This my father has now done.

Stephen

[truthergw]

A tie between the CWGC plot in Phalempin Communal Cemetery where my GF is buried ( about 70/80 graves), and the French National Cemetery at La Targette wher the crosses seem to go on forever.

[Patrick H]

On the ferry back home he told me that he had taken two small pebbles from the soil next to the headstone, he wanted to put those pebbles into the soil next to my Great Grandfathers, Widows grave, she is buried in Witton Cemetery in Birmingham. This my father has now done.

Stephen

That is special. Had me close to tears

Patrick

[FredJCarss]

Its Vis-en-Artois to see my gran's first husband who had he survived I would not be here - he literally died that I might Live! Its a very queer thought so I visited him for gran who never made it. I dont know if anyone from his side ever visited his commeration.

Also Warloy-Ballion for me visiting Lt.Col T.M.M.Berkeley, Black Watch after a few years if hunting for information on him. But all the rest where Carss's are buried are thought provoking as there were never many of us and its always sobering to see one's surname in stone.

Fred

[Will O'Brien]

For me it was a quick stop at Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension in April. I was on the Pals 2005 tour to Ypres & Chris agreed to stop here on our way back to the UK. The cemetery is not pretty by any means but it was the first time any member of my family had the opportunity to pay respects to my Great Uncle............ I was lucky enough to be able to spend 10-15 minutes at his graveside.............For that alone it has to be the most rewarding cemetery I've ever visited

[andyspiller]

Two for me - Tyne Cot, because one Great-Uncle is buried there and Cuckoo Passage - only 54 chaps in this one but half are Queen Vics who died on 14th April 1917 during the Battle of Arras. The reason for this is that it is situated exactly where another g-uncle won his MM - you guessed it 14th April 1917. This actually makes Cuckoo Passage far more poiniant in a way.

Rgds

Andy

[squirrel]

Getting the cousins from my dad's side of the family together for the first time in years to visit his brother's grave at Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery in 2003.

[FredJCarss]

Andy

Cuckoo Passage is also memorable for me as the map showed the road continues - but it ended up a muddy track - I was lucky not to still be there. I still shudder at the thought

Fred

[andyspiller]

Fred

O.K. so how about this then, after having been to F&F for the 1st time we started researching Mrs Spiller's side of the family (in respect of WW1) and found that one of her g-uncles is buried in Heninel-Croiselles (DOD 23/04/1917). Spooky or what.

If you are interested there is a map dated 14th April 1917 in the QVR history.

Rgds

Andy

BTW For those who don't know the two cemeteries are no more than 1/2 mile apart.

[FredJCarss]

Andy

IT IS SPOOKY

On one cemetery I saw a grave and by chance looked him up in the register for no particular reason - he came from an address 5 minutes from my house. Scary or what!

Fred

[spike10764]

Whilst searching for a War grave in Beaumont, near Carlisle Cumbria, I came across the grave of my old English Teacher from school. Remembering he lived out there and described in lessons why he liked living in (what was to us) the wilds of the country (and how, shock of shocks he didn't have or need a telly to live-even in the 70's that was a shock to us). I didn't know he had died(in 1998) and definitely felt his well tended grave in a little churchyard was probably just how he would have liked to be laid to rest.

Not a rewarding cemetery so to speak ,but definitely an enlightening visit.

[ianw]

I accompanied a group including veteran Donald Hodge to a cemetery on the Somme in 1991. Donald laid a wreath on a old pal's grave. Very memorable.

[Paul Reed]

For me, one of the more memorable, was The Farm at Gallipoli - one of the most challenging cemeteries, physically, to get to I have ever visited. It's a goat track down and back up - and going back up is the hardest bit! Worth it, though, for the superb views down to northern ANZAC and Suvla. When you get there you only see half a dozen headstones and think - is that it? But more than 600 men sleep sound in this corner of the Gallipoli battlefields and I would bet it is the least visited cemetery on the penninsula.

See also:

http://battlefields1418.50megs.com/the_farm_cemetery.htm

[uncle bill]

bailleul. Being the first person to visit my wife's great grandfather's grave since 1915.

[Nick Cooper]

Four visits that are very special to me, but for different reasons:

Etaples Military Cemetery in September 1999 with my mother's twin sister, the first members of our family to visit the grave of her great-uncle (her mother's mother's brother). It was at the start of a two-week nonstructured trek that took us on to Normandy, and then north via Rouen to Amiens and St Omer, and my first Last Post at the Menin Gate.

The churchyard in Eperlecques, Pas de Calais, a week after Etaples. Only two burials: An ASC Driver who died in August 1917 and - right next to him - an RAF Flight Sergeant who died in late May 1940. That someone made sure that two compatriots would lie side by side says more in actions than be expressed in mere words

The almost indescribably beautiful Overloon War Cemetery, Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands, at dusk in May 2000 with the same aunt. A WW2 cemetery with many lads of the East Yorkshire Regiment with home addresses in the register familiar from my childhood in Hull.

Most recently, in September 2004, with my mother, the first in our family to visit the grave of her errant grandfather (he got her grandmother pregnant, having neglected to marry her first before doing a runner!) in County Cork, Ireland.

Edited 8 December , 2005 by Nick Cooper

[Guest Hill 60]

For me the two most rewarding cemetery visits have to be the ones I made to Menin Road South Military Cemetery, Ypres and Chapelle British Cemetery, Holnon. I have great uncles buried in both of these cemeteries (see the Edward and William Swain links in my signature), and to take my father to both was especially rewarding.

Although both visits were both very emotional I think the Holnon visit was more so. Up until around 5-6 years ago my family thought that William's body had never been found, it was a story I was brought up on. To actually find his grave, and the spot where his body was originally buried, was amazing.

Another rewarding visit was when Jean and visited the graves of her Nan and brother in the Islington and St Pancras Cemetery. We had a drive around the place (it is massive and well worth a visit if you've never been before) when we made a random stop. We headed off down a path that was so overgrown that I doubt if anyone had been down it for a number of years.

After a few minutes of fighting through the undergrowth I spotted a CWGC headstone at the side of the path. After clearing the weeds from it I discovered the grave of a Sergeant in the 1st Bn, CEF. I have a medal and plaque group to an early casualty of the 1st Bn so I took a photo. When I got home I was suprised to discover that the two men's number are just a few digits from each others! Strangely, on a recent visit this year, we couldn't find the path again!!

[AndyJohnson]

I've visited over 100 CWGC cemeteries to visit men of Tipton, Staffs, one stands out above all others.

On the last night of one trip I was staying at Avril's in Auchonvillers and was to visit Harry Callear's grave at Cerisy Gailly on the next day. After dinner I picked a book at random to browse through - "Grimsby's Own" by Peter Chapman. Harry Callear was in the 10th Lincolnshires - which at that time I didn't know is of course the Grimsby Chums. The next bit you can guess - flicking through the pages to find that page 75 has a picture of Harry Callear - spooky or what??

The next day I got to Cerisy-Gailly, paid my respects and got the photographs. As I was finishing, the sky darkened and by the time I had driven back to the road towards Albert, there had been a hail storm and there was a good inch of hail on the road.

If I believed that sort of thing, I would say the old chap knew I was coming to visit and wanted to mark the occasion!

Harry's not been forgotten, we've recently had his memorial plaque renovated and re-sited in the new school which replaced the one in which he used to teach, and where the memorial had been sited since October 1916 (unveiled by John Norton-Griffiths and Joseph Davies VC, also of Tipton and that school).

An artist colleague of mine did a fine sepia-tint portrait of Harry from the Grimsby's Own book, and this hangs next to the memorial.

Andy

Edited 9 December , 2005 by AndyJohnson

[delta]

Like many others - to the site of a relative's grave. In my case my father's uncle, Sid Wilson who is buried at Klein Vierstrsat British Cemetray. I was also the first of the family to visit him (and have dropped into see him whenever I have since been on the salient).

Until I had made this link, to one individual in a grave, my visits to the battlefields had been "professional" and "detached". I believe that Napoleon said that "God is on the side of the big battalions"; hopefully he is also on the side of every individual soldier who lost his life, in whatever circumstance. Now, during any visit to a new area, I always try to link it to a soldier who died in the area, not to a unit or formation - having said that, many seem to have "no known grave". The sadness is there are even more whose families are unaware that they are missing.

So why was the visit to Sid's grave the most rewarding - it is because it opened my eyes to the individual amongst the masses, it put battles into the context of the sum of individual efforts. Above all, it fired my rockets to learn more and take less for granted.

[cockney tone]

Not the Great war but;

A 2nd World War casualty, after years of research I was finally able to visit the grave of my Fathers cousin Reg Blaydon and his three comrades who are buried in the French Churchyard at St Vigor-D'ymonville near Le Harve. They were shot down in August 1944 returning from a raid near Falaise.

I had the honour of being accompanied by a very brave French lady who as a 21 year old helped bury them and who was also giving medical assistance to one of the four crew who survived when the Germans arrived on scene.

We were also joined by a local French man who assisted two of the crew to evade.

Incredible individuals and an unforgetable and humbling experience for me.

Scottie.

[stevew]

2 for me......................

My Gt Gt Uncle is buried at Coxyde Military Cemetery, that makes Coxyde particulalry special for me. The other is a 2nd World War. My other halves uncle was shot down from his Lancaster shortly after D-Day, I took her and her parents to visit the grave at Montchauvet Communial Cemetery (west of Paris), again it was poignant and moving listening to the locals who saw the plane come down and help bury the airman. These people don't forget the debt of honour paid by 6 members of the crew of a Lancaster, and I for one won't forget the way that they have respected 6 lads of the RAF

[Tom Morgan]

For me it was Pornic War Cemetery. I've taken so many people to British cemeteries and stood by as they visited graves - the first members of their families to do so.

At Pornic I was able to experience this myself. The "Tom" after whom I'm named is buried there - the only member of my family (from either World War) not to come home again.

Tom

[Nigel Marshall]

On a tangent from the topic but here goes anyway.... standing on the kop at Elland Road trying to explain the pull of the Western front to a work mate (Fishy Dave) but getting nowhere. Then saying to him "Look around you and see the faces of these people. I'll take you to a place that lists the names of thousands more men than are here today, all killed in the war, none with a known grave." May 17 1996, I took him to the Menin Gate and watched the disbelief all over his face as I pointed out an example of his surname. Thats the moment you know you've hit home. Thats the reward and the pull of Ypres and countless other places out there. He even ignored the angler by the moat. That said it all.