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Yorkshire
Regiment War Graves, - Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery (France, Nord) |
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Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery - 1
Photo : Chris Cosgrove (<trainscpc@aol.com>)
Valenciennes remained in German hands from the early days of the First World War until 1-2 November 1918, when it was entered and cleared by the Canadian Corps; 5,000 civilians were found in the town. In November and December 1918, the 2nd, 57th, 4th Canadian and 32nd Casualty Clearing Stations were posted at Valenciennes and the last of them did not leave until October 1919.
The Communal Cemetery of St. Roch was used by the Germans in August and September 1914 and an extension was then made on the south-east side. The Commonwealth plots were made adjoining the German: I and II contain the graves of October 1918 to December 1919; III, IV, V and part of VI contain the graves of 348 soldiers buried originally in the German Extension and 226 whose bodies were brought from other cemeteries or from the battlefields. The German Extension has since been removed and the Commonwealth plots are within the enlarged Communal Cemetery. There were several burial grounds from which graves were moved to this cemetery.
The cemetery now contains 885 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 37 of the burials are unidentified. Special memorials commemorate 19 casualties who died as prisoners of war, of whom nine are buried here (Plot IV, Row A.) and ten at Le Quesnoy Communal Cemetery Extension, none of whom could be individually identified; all are therefore commemorated at both sites.
Other special memorials record the names of seven soldiers buried in other cemeteries whose graves could not be found. The cemetery also contains 34 burials from the Second World War, all but one of them airmen.
An interesting feature from the 1939-45 War, is a memorial tablet of white marble affixed to the outside wall of the shelter building, commemorating the Commission's former gardener, the late Robert Armstrong. An ex-Irish Guardsman, Mr. Armstrong held an Irish passport and, as a neutral, was allowed to continue at work in the cemetery after the outbreak of war. His sympathies impelled him to assist Allied soldiers and airmen to escape, and he was arrested by the Germans at the end of 1943. The original death sentence was commuted to 15 years imprisonment, and he was deported to Germany, dying at Waldheim Camp, Saxony, in December, 1944. For his help to Allied escapees he was posthumously awarded the Medaille de Resistance Francaise, and the tablet was a voluntary token of remembrance from the people of Valenciennes and the surrounding district.
The cemetery also contains a memorial to Sir William Douglas, K.C.B., who commanded the 91st Regiment in the Waterloo campaign.
7 soldiers who served in the Yorkshire Regiment are buried in this cemetery.
We are extremely grateful to Chris Cosgrove (<trainscpc@aol.com>) for photographing the cemetery and the graves of the soldiers who served in the Yorkshire Regiment.
Click on a thumbnail image of a headstone for a larger version of the photo which opens in a new window.
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Private James Connolly.
25005. 13th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Died 4 October 1918. Born Whitton Park (Durham), Enlisted Middlesbrough, Resided South Bank. Commemorated P.O.W. Special Memorial, VALENCIENNES (ST. ROCH) COMMUNAL CEMETERY, and Commemorated P.O.W. Special Memorial, LE QUESNOY COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION (see photo below). There is also a headstone commemorating Private James Connolly at the Le Quesnoy Communal Cemetery Extension. |
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2nd Lieutenant
William Edwin Cook. 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, attached to 4th Battalion. Son of William John and Eliza Jane Cook, of 121, Bellenden Rd., Peckham, London. Native of Dulwich, London. Killed 27 April 1918. Aged 24. "TAKE HEART
WHO BEARS THE CROSS TODAY SHALL WEAR THE CROWN TOMORROW" |
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Private Henry Evison,
21057. 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Killed 27 July 1918. Born Bishop Burton (Yorks), Enlisted Stockton-on-Tees. |
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Private James Ferris.
72452.
2nd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own), formerly 46954 the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of James and Jane Ferris, of Wingate, Co. Durham; husband of Henrietta Ferris, of 15, Brook St., West Hartlepool, Co. Durham. Killed 28 May 1918. Aged 31. Enlisted Ferryhill, Resided 15 Brook Street, West Hartlepool. "HONOUR THE BRAVE" |
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Private Willie Hinchliffe,
41367. 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment. Died 5 March 1919. Biographical details of Willie Hinchliffe are provided on the website for Batley's Roll of Honour. He first served with the 12th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, before transferring to the 6th and then the 2nd Battalion. ref. Medal Rolls Index. The 2nd Battalion were at Valenciennes after the Armistice, where they were gradually demobilised. Drafts were also used to help provide the Army of Occupation in Germany. Willie Hinchliffe died of influenza whilst with the battalion at Valenciennes. |
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Private Samuel Ewart
Selby. 123140.
6th Battalion Machine Gun Corps (Infantry), formerly 243736 the Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Mrs. Elizabeth Selby, of "Glenburn,'' Arundel Avenue, Bispham, Blackpool. Killed 23 July 1918. Aged 28. Born Manchester, Enlisted Manchester. "UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY" |
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Private William Williamson.
3646. 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Transferred to (28059) 47th Coy Labour Corps. Son of Mr. M. and Mrs. J. Williamson, of 12, Trinity Grove, Grovehill Rd., Beverley, Yorks. Died 6 December 1918. Aged 21. |
"TO THE MEMORY OF 19 BRITISH SOLDIERS WHO DIED AS PRISONERS OF WAR AND WHOSE NAMES ARE RECORDED ON THESE HEADSTONES BUT OF WHOM ONLY 9 ARE BURIED HERE THE OTHER 10 BEING BURIED IN LE QUESNOY COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION. THEIR GLORY SHALL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT" |
Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery - 2
Photo : Chris Cosgrove (<trainscpc@aol.com>)
Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery - 3
Photo : Chris Cosgrove (<trainscpc@aol.com>)
Valenciennes (St. Roch) Communal Cemetery - the Memorial to Robert Armstrong,
Head Gardener
Photo : Chris Cosgrove (<trainscpc@aol.com>)
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