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Remembered Today:

Teofani railway crossing cemetery, Dadizeelehoek, Flanders


damiangt

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The Teofani railway crossing was just South of Ledeghem, East of Dadizeele in Belgium, and was the resting place for about 16 men killed in the British push of 15th October 1918. I think it contained mostly Royal Inniskilling fusiliers. The cemetery was moved in the 1930s and the graves were relocated to the Dadizeele New British Cemetery. If anyone can point me in the direction of any information about the Teofani cemetery I would be grateful...

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Can any pal advise me whether the wooden crosses at the front would have been the original ones from the time of burial??

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As he helped bury the dead Father Adamson (the RC Chaplain attached to the 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers) made a pencilled diagram to record the position of the graves. He shows the position of the Teofani cemetery relative to the surrounding roads...

post-12665-1152044975.jpg

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Damian.

Out of interest do you know where Teofani is on the modern map?

Thanks.

Neil

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I don't! I know that the cemetery was East of Dadizele and South of ledeghem. I have no idea whether Teofani still exists, or what size it was during the war. A few years ago I did source an aerial photo from the IWM collection which showed the area and I remember the railway seemed to have a couple of tracks. In the photo was a train, with smoke billowing from it's chimney... I will see if I can find it...

Another of the pals has contacted me about this and hopes to be able to add some info, which I look forward to!

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Looking at the modern map and comparing it with the one done by the padre it may have been where I have marked the map in red. The line running to the right is a cycle path but it would make sense if they had used the line of an old railway for the cycle track. The building at the top left of my red blob - which I have partly obscured - is a church. I don't if there was one there in WW1 but if there was it is a logical place to put the cemetery.

post-719-1151618768.jpg

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Fantastic! That has to be the spot...

When my Cousin and I visited Flanders (perhaps ten years ago) we visited the region... I remember that we found the rough area but were never quite sure about the spot as we didn't have a good modern map. I remember the pill box in the field next door and a church in the background. Also some railway sleepers on end, which might have been marking the cycle track you have found... I also remember we visited "Jago farm" (on the hand-drawn map) which had been battalion HQ at the time. The farmer told us that he had dug up two British soldiers in his newly ploughed fields only recently. We found used shells in the same field.

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Fantastic! That has to be the spot...

When my Cousin and I visited Flanders (perhaps ten years ago) we visited the region... I remember that we found the rough area but were never quite sure about the spot as we didn't have a good modern map. I remember the pill box in the field next door and a church in the background. Also some railway sleepers on end, which might have been marking the cycle track you have found... I also remember we visited "Jago farm" (on the hand-drawn map) which had been battalion HQ at the time. The farmer told us that he had dug up two British soldiers in his newly ploughed fields only recently. We found used shells in the same field.

Damian,

This is an actual photo of the spot,

You can see the pillbox and in the background the church of Ledegem

Photo 30/06

Marnik

post-11745-1151683096.jpg

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These are photo's of Teofani railway crossing.

The railway is now a cycle-track.

Regards,

Marnik

post-11745-1151683250.jpg

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Damian,

When i compare with the diagram, the former Teofani railway cemetry was at the spot on the picture N°11,

nearby the farm.

Marnik

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Marnik - thanks a million for your kind help. I feasted my eyes on these images!

Here is the letter Father Adamson wrote to my Great Grandfather:

France 1-11-18

Dear Mr Irvine,

It is with mingled feelings of great regret and satisfaction that I write this note to you. No doubt you will have heard the sad news already if not from the war office then from his company commander, 2nd Lt C.W. Irvine, 1st R. Innis. Fus. was killed in action on the 14th of last month at about 5.45 am R.I.P. He had much endeared himself to all who knew him and to me especially. He was always so full of buoyant spirits that it was cheering to meet him and have a chat with him: and as far as I can judge the men liked him. Nothing seemed to make him fear and he appeared ready and cheerful for any duty. I assure you I miss him much. He attended his duties well and further he saw that the men of his company attended too. He was always there with them. On Sunday Oct 13th - it had been raining all day and we were in nothing better than bivouacs - at about 5.0 a.m. I had only to let him know that I wanted all the RC's in the open field, and he was there with his company. I spoke a few words and gave them a general absolution (it had been impossible to get to mass that morning, but we had had mass about four days previously.) About 3 hours later the battalion moved forward to its position for the attack & within some 500 yards of the jump off your son was hit on the side of the head and fatally injured. He was certainly in front of his men from the position in which he lay when I found him about 8.30 am or 9.0 am He had been dead some time. I read the prayers for the dead over him as he lay for I could not stop to bury him. He was buried next day by some of his comrades almost on the exact spot where he was killed. He is buried with some six or eight of his battalion and a rough cross marks the grave until such time as a better one can be put in position. Need I attempt any words of consolation in your case, Mr Irvine. You know full well who gave you your son, that he gave him to you to take care of for a time only, and that he would take what was his away from you when and in what manner pleased him best. You know perhaps better than I do how fitted he was for the next world & how often true it is that the ripest fruit is the first of all to fall. And you have only to look at your crucifix to find there a close parallel between master and servant, how both have given their lives for the sake of their friends and indeed what more glorious death could there be than to die at the head of one's men in the cause of duty - glorious both in the sight of God and the sight of men. Do we mourn his loss? and if so, is it on his account - surely we believe full well that he will soon have his eternal reward. We mourn his loss because he was dear to us, because we are the losers and we must need to realise that this is our part in his sacrifice. Can we accept it in the same spirit of cheerfulness and resignation as did he? When speaking to me that Sunday night he seemed ready for anything, nay you might almost say he had a presentiment of what the issue would be. Yet he was brave and as cheerful as any. To accept our part of the sacrifice and to offer it to the divine victim for his speedy release from any temporal punishment - that is our duty surely. I have delayed writing this letter for various reasons, the chief being that Wednesday last was the first opportunity the lads had of getting to mass. That mass was offered for the repose of his soul and many of the lads offered their holy communion for the same intention RIP. Unfortunately I cannot at present disclose the spot where he is buried but that information may be obtained from the director of graves registration & enquiries, war office, Winchester House, St James's square, London S.W. I enclose a small photograph which was handed to me.

Please do accept my sincerest sympathies and condolences,

Yours v. sincerely in Christ, Robert Adamson

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A sad story, Damian, the letter is almost 90 years old and still thrilling....

Marnik

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Thanks to everyone who has helped with this thread. Here is my list of men who I believe to have been buried at Teofani. The list is somewhat speculative, based upon my Great Uncle's archive and various other sources. Might it be possible that the CWGC hold records for this cemetery to confirm my list, or to add to it?

2Lt CW Irvine DNBC VI D 2 aged 19.

L/Cpl W Murphy 44440 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 26

Pte E Aspinall 49598 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 29 aged 24.

Pte J Bailey 49599 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 28

Pte Henry Bishop 45017 died 14/15th October DNBC VI c 28 aged 19

Pte WJ Bray 43721 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 31

Pte SG Brown 27114 died 15th October DNBC V C 2

Pte WRT Carter 47131 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 34

Pte John D Fisher 45051 died 14/15th October DNBC VI E 12 aged 19

Pte John Harris 41682 died 15th October DCC II A 1 aged 20

Pte HC Hartwell 47072 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 32 aged 19

Pte Frank H Haswell 47073 died 14/15th October DNBC II A 11 aged 19

Pte T Mc Givern 24701 died 14/15th October DNBC VI F 24 aged 27

Pte L Moore 31602 died 14th October DNBC II A 28

Pte W Williams 47242 died 14/15th October DNBC VI C 33 aged 23

DNBC: Dadizeele New British Cemetery.

DCC: Dadizeele Communal Cemetery.

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Damian,

As I wrote in a PM to you, SDGW lists 6 men fallen on 14 Oct 1918 (I may have written 5, but that was an error), and 33 on 15 Oct. Total 39.

I am not saying that they all were buried at Teofani Railway Crossing Cemetery of course. Some / many of them may have fallen after the battalion had already advanced, and may have been buried in a cemetery farther east.

I see that of your 16 men 8 or so are buried together in DNBC in the same row (Plot VI, row C, graves 26-34). The other graves of the battalion are a little scattered though. (2 in plot II A , 1 in VI D, 1 in VI E, 1 in VI F, 1 in V C)

I am not saying that when graves were moved from a smaller cemetery to a larger (Teofani > DNBC) one can expect that they were all buried together, same plot, same row. I simply have no idea how things were organised, and probably there was no rule saying that they should be buried together. (Besides, why would there have been such a rule ?) I am just saying that this is something I have often wondered about. And, in this case, if it is possible that other men in or near row VI C may have been moved from Teofani Railway Crossing Cemetery ?

Just trying to complete the picture. (Or making it more complicated ... <_< )

Aurel

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Thanks so much, Aurel. Thank-you also for your PM finding that Teofani were a brand of cigarettes, which might be the origin in "Tommy language" for the name of the railway crossing. I have just done a quick ebay search and find that there are Teofani cigarette cards which include images of war. It seems that the Teofani cigarette factory was in Brixton, London.

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Might it be possible that the CWGC hold records for this cemetery to confirm my list, or to add to it?

CWGC has records based on cemeteries to which men were moved rather than those from which they came.

So the records for each moved man would be in the cemetery files to which the men were moved - making cross-referencing difficult if you don't know where they were moved and who was moved.

The army did the moving rather than CWGC.

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CWGC is not a research organisation and nor does it provide research services.

They will, however, answer specific queries if they can (ie. Do you have a record of the original burial location of Pte XYZ who is now buried in ABC Cemetery?). They cannot respond to general queries requiring hours of research.

Also, the files required are their working documents and are not available to the public. Also, the records are in the second year of a five year digitising programme (for internal use initially) and many of the records are missing at any one time - which itself causes them problems!

If you wish to query one name, they will answer you to the best of their ability though it may take a while depending on workload at the time.

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I spoke to the CWGC today, and they were extremely helpful. Unfortunately they couldn't shed any light on this puzzle.

I am asking permission from the IWM to post an aerial photograph of the area taken in 1917...

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Here it is!

Copyright Imperial War Museum Box 180 Series 45K neg 1608 28L89cd 22-8-17

With many thanks to the IWM and not for reproduction.

post-12665-1152044748.jpg

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Damian,

The farm on the left side of the railway is the one on the picture of post#11.

Marnik

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