The St Laurent Cemetery in St Laurent Sur Mere, France. HD Stock Footage
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The St Laurent Cemetery in St Laurent Sur Mere, France.
View of crosses on the graves and Star of David on one plot in St Laurent Cemetery at St Laurent Sur Mere, France. Men walk amidst the cemetery. A flag in the cemetery. Location: Saint Laurent Sur Mere France. Date: July 29, 1944.
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KORTRIJK, Belgium, Commonwealth War Grave Lance Corporal Vercoe:
As part of my wife’s genealogy research a friend (who was also doing family research) took us on a day trip to Belgium and France to visit Commonwealth War Graves where we had already established through previous research that family members were buried. Our first stop was Kortrijk (St. Jan) communal cemetery, Belgium where Bernard Vercoe was known to be buried. Lance Corporal Bernard Vercoe of the 2nd New Zealand Entrenching Battalion died of sickness on 22nd November 1918.
Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Neuville-Saint-Vaast
Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. (Volksbund)
Ecoivres Mititary Cemetery
The graves of the mostly British and Canadian soldiers are in chronological order: the graves of the men of the 46th North Midland Division who relieved the French in March 1916 are followed by those of the 25th Division who fell in the German attack at the foot of Vimy Ridge in May 1916; next come the men of the 47th London Division who died between July and October 1916 and finally the graves of the Canadians who lost their lives in the successful assault on Vimy Ridge in April 1917. (Ecoivres Military Cemetery - Mont-Saint-Eloi)
cimetière allemand
de Neuville saint Vaast
cimetiere militaire de Neuville st Vaast Targette
A Neuville-Saint-Vaast, au hameau de la Targette, une nécropole française ou Le strict alignement des croix françaises contraste avec la volonté paysagère et architecturale des Britanniques, marquée notamment par deux élégants mausolées de style indien. Située sur la route qui relie Arras à Lens, Neuville-Saint-Vaast va être au cœur des combats que va connaitre le secteur en 1915 puis en 1917.
Le 9 mai 1915, l'armée française lance une offensive d'envergure contre les positions allemandes situées sur les collines de l'Artois. La prise de Neuville constitue un objectif majeur avant de reprendre pied sur la crête de Vimy. Du côté allemand, le village est protégé par quatre lignes de défense et chacune de ses 150 maisons transformée en forteresse hérissée de canons et de mitrailleuses. A la sortie du bourg, le fameux « Labyrinthe », avec ses kilomètres de tranchées flanquées de fortins et de blockhaus, constitue une position considérée comme imprenable. Les Français le conquièrent morceau après morceau, au terme d'une lutte acharnée qui dure jusqu'au 17 juin 1915 et coûte la vie à des milliers d'hommes dont beaucoup reposent aujourd'hui dans la nécropole de la Targette. Neuville Saint-Vaast entre leurs mains n'est plus qu'un amas de ruines, l'éperon de Notre-Dame de Lorette est conquis mais Vimy leur échappe toujours.
Neuville-Saint-Vaast, au cœur des combats en 1915 et 1917.
En mars 1916, les Britanniques relèvent la 10e armée française dans le secteur d'Arras et les Canadiens prennent en charge celui de Vimy. Ils entament alors un minutieux travail préparatoire à un assaut futur qui verra notamment l'aménagement d'un vaste réseau de douze tunnels, débouchant sur les lignes allemandes. Le 9 avril 1917, malgré les bourrasques de neige, les 4 divisions canadiennes partent à l'assaut de la crête de Vimy. Au lieu-dit Aux-Rietz, la 2ème Division canadienne suit les opérations depuis sont quartier général avancé et ses unités d'artillerie y soutiennent l'avancée des soldats sur la crête. Un tiers des soldats inhumés au La Targette British Cemetery ont appartenu aux forces d'artillerie qui ont participé à cet assaut ou qui en ont par la suite assuré la défense.
Roclincourt Valley Cemetery
In October 2008 we travelled to France and Belgium. We visited many WW 1 Cemeteries, but the visit to Roclincourt Valley Cemetery that was an extra special one. My great-grandfather Thomas Noon is buried there. Tommy was killed in action on April 8, 1918.
Messages for Fouquières war dead
Fouquières-lès-Béthune is a small village in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais a few miles south west of Béthune and 30 miles southwest of Lille. The village cemetery also contains a plot for the Commonwealth War Graves commission for mainly those who died in the first world war, there is also a handful of graves from the second world war. The soldiers here are those who died of their wounds and came from field ambulances stationed in the village. Some of the graves also contain a quote or personal messages from the family on the lower part of the grave stone. This video shows a few examples of those inscriptions. I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (
Terry Kelly A Pittance of Time Official Version
Remembrance Day, The flower of English youth and a generation lost, on the first day of the battle of the Somme.
The first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, was the most disastrous the British Army has ever suffered. The soldiers advancing slowly over no-man’s land in long lines, side by side, were told that the German trenches had been destroyed. Instead they were met with a hail of German machine gun and artillery fire and huge numbers of soldiers were quickly cut down. The surviving attackers dived for cover and advanced slowly from shell-hole to shell-hole. Nearly all the attacks were defeated and 58,000 British and Empire troops, about half of the force, fell in battle with nearly 20,000 dead. Many of the Pals Battalions were decimated.
In the UK, large-scale recruitment to the Army and the formation of battalions of volunteer soldiers meant that virtually no part of the country was left unscathed by the events of July to November 1916. For many people the Battle of the Somme, especially the disastrous first day, brought home for the first time the true horrors of warfare in the First World War and was seen as a tragic waste of life. The numerous memorials and military cemeteries that lie across the Picardy countryside continue to serve as a poignant reminder of enormous sacrifices made in the summer and autumn of 1916. Further south, at Verdun, the remains of the French forts, the Douaumont Ossuary, and the voie sacree keep alive memories of the Western Front’s other great battle of 1916. Men from every walk of life, village, hamlet, towns, and cities answered the call and many of them lifetime friends.
Lincolnshire Regiment The Forgotten Daybreak
The Forgotten Point of the Day
Buried arm in arm, the Grimsby Potes, English volunteers of the Great War, remained fraternally united even in death.
* Afan: Association for National Archaeological Excavations.
We had never experienced such an experience, says, still moved, Alain Jacques, head of the Regional Department of archeology Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais.
At the end of May 2001, while the researchers continue the exploration of a 300-hectare site in the course of preventive excavations between Saint-Laurent-Blangy and Athies, in the Scarpe Valley, one of them falls by chance on a mass grave. There, in what had once been the tragic battlefield of the hills of Artois, lie twenty bodies. Twenty British soldiers killed during the First World War. That of 14-18, the Great War.
Extended, side by side, buried in front of the enemy and arranged in formation of combat, the soldiers, united in the death, are buried arm in arm, in a final macabre choreography. Never, at that time, soldiers and officers had been buried, together, in this way. It is a unique case, a behavior that signifies an act of camaraderie of immense scope, the archaeologist continues. All were dressed in their uniforms, but without the equipment or armament.
Further, in a shell hole, another body, isolated, is wrapped in a tarpaulin. A soldier of the Royal Naval Division. Then, a few meters further, three bodies. Still in a shell hole. Papers and personal effects were collected. “These men were all declared dead during the battle of Arras, even though the place of their burial was forgotten. They are not missing, such as the tens of thousands of men sacrificed 'has never found the trace' , says Gilles Prillaux, specialist of Afan (*).
Some badges still legible reveal that they are from the 10th Battalion of Lincolnshire, based in the north of England. A regiment belonging to the 101st Brigade and the 34th British Division. The Grimsby Chums! The Grimsby Potes! This was their nickname. Their nickname. 1915 it was in Arras that the first major French offensives took place, the mortality was higher than in all the known places, more dead than in Verdun or on the Somme ...
On these hills of Artois, indeed, while the Canadians take care of the West front and illustrate at Vimy, the English must attack the East and take the Point du Jour, a fortified hill located on the same ridge.
On the 9th of April, 1917, in a deluge of fire and steel, in the terror and fury that simultaneously engenders fear, they are two hundred of Lincolnshire to engage. Most of them are pulverized, liquefied by shells between 9 and 14 April.
They are definitely forgotten, including the grouping of burials that takes place after the war. As soon as we discovered the bodies, we contacted the office of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is based in Beaurains (Pas-de-Calais), says anthropologist Pascal Bura.
World War One - In memory of a Canadian Soldier
In honour of a Pte. Goldwin McCausland Pirie, 1st Battalion Western Ontario Regiment, who died of wounds received at the 2nd battle of Ypres during the first World War. A native of Dundas, Ontario, and a graduate of Trinity College School in Port Hope, he volunteered to serve in August 1914 and left Canada with the first Canadian Contingent. He was severely wounded during a counterattack on April 23rd, 1915, and lay several days in the open on the battlefield before he was picked up. He spent about two months in the Royal Victoria Hospital (Netley) in Southampton and died there on July 1st, 1915. His name appears on the Dundas War Memorial, in the Canadian Bank of Commerce Roll of Honour, and a street in Dundas has been named in his honour. Never forgotten by his family.
Carey Family Tree-Baptist Church at Bayeux, France(2)
Christ est mort pour nos peches. Bien plus, il est Ressuscite.
(Christ died for our sins. Alleluia, he has risen.).
Frank Graham Cycle Liberation Tour 2013 Day 2.
Frank Graham,
The committee Welcome Again Veterans has been actively involved in hosting our Canadian liberators. Since the early eighties this committee has made a significant effort to never forget the great achievements of these freedom fighters that helped to end the German occupation and Nazi regime. Unfortunately, a larger number of our World War II liberators have passed away. We are fortunate that one of our liberators, Frank Graham from Midland Ontario, Canada, is still with us. Assigned the nickname, Mr. Veteran Markelo, has Frank visited our town many times to commemorate his past experiences and to tell his story to the young people in Markelo.
Sharing his challenging and sometimes painful experiences, Frank never considered himself a hero. He told us about his liberation trail via Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, the difficult conditions, often being scared. He was severely injured in Nijmegen at the famous bridge that crossed the Waal river. Because of his injuries Frank's fight for freedom and our liberation ended there. He has been a great inspiration to many youngsters and locals. He will always be thankful to and humbled by the respect the citizens of Markelo continue to show to him.
In 2010 Frank paid a special visit with his wife Mary and four sons to Markelo and to the bridge crossing the Waal river. It was an emotional visit as Frank told his sons more of his painful war experiences during that week than in all years before. The Nijmegen community and Mayor were pleased with his visit and honored Frank with a special watch engraved with the Waal bridge in Nijmegen.
Before his return to Canada, Frank did ask the Canada Committee how we would continue with Remembrance services as the 65th was to be the last celebrations. We promised Frank and his sons to continue organizing these memorials as we should not forget what Frank and his fellow Canadian liberators gave us; our freedom. Therefore, in April/May 2013 we will thank all Freedom Fighters with a special Cycle Liberation Tour for Canadian and Dutch students. The ride will start in Normandy at Juno Beach and end in Markelo. The riders will follow parts of the path that the Allies took in their successful attempt to liberate Europe during World War II.
Frank, we really appreciate your efforts, as liberator and inspiring personality. You are a symbol for our freedom. Now it's our turn to continue telling the story and make youngsters aware of the great value of freedom. You can count on us now and in the future.
Lest we forget,
The Canada Committee Markelo, Netherlands.
Gert-Jan Oplaat
Cycle Liberation Tour 2013 and the Essex and Kent Legion Pipe band.
The Canada Committee Markelo, will organize a cycling tour starting from Normandy -- Juno beach in April/May 2013. Around fifty students -- both Dutch and Canadian -- will participate in this tour ending on Queen's Day in Markelo. Starting with a memorial service at Juno beach the tour will visit the most important World War II locations along the liberation trail, for example: Vimy Ridge, the Ardennes, Nijmegen, and Arnhem, Zutphen/Warnsveld. In these areas cycle tours will be organized. The larger distances will be crossed with a touring car and army vehicles of the Groene Soos. The nights will be spent at camping sites or hostels.
Four days before the end of the tour the Essex & Kent Legion Pipe band, a cooperation of the Sun Parlour Pipes and drums and Branch 28 RCL Pipe band from Ontario Canada, will join the group. On Queen's Day (30th of April) the students, army vehicles, touring car and pipe band will finish in Markelo.
The Canadian and Dutch students will continue organizing memorial services, the honoring of our liberators and telling the storyline. They will take over this important task from our World War II witnesses, knowing and understanding what happened and becoming the new ambassadors of freedom.
Lest we forget what the Canadians did for the liberation of the Netherlands.
With this cycle tour, the memorial services and supporting festivities the Canada Committee would like to continue memorating the past and bring the awareness and key aspects of freedom to the present.
Frank, we will keep our promise!
Canada Committee:
Canadian organization, amongst others:
Chester Graham (eldest son of Frank)
Lloyd Graham (son of Frank)
Randy Matheson (Sun Parlour Pipes and Drums)
Dottie Laurie
From the Canada Committee:
Gert Jan Oplaat, Henriette Kok, Femke Matthijssen, Jan Ebbekink, Henk Hondelink, Johan Vruwink, Berry Nijland, Bert Pinkert and Bert Schut.
Stichting Canada Comité Markelo
Stationsstraat 26, 7475 AM Markelo
Secretary: Henriëtte Kok-Klumpers; info@cycleliberationtour.nl
cycleliberationtour.nl
KvK-nummer: 08165389, Rabobank nr:1383.38.450 IBAN: NL43 RABO 0138 3384 50
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