1010 replies to this topic

[MartinBennitt]

Rose Coombs described St Symphorien as "possibly the most beautiful of all British cemeteries in the Western Front area¨.

cheers Martin B

[Tom Tulloch-Marshall]

flintwich, on 01 July 2011 - 07:17 AM, said:

Tom, guessing St Symphorien.

Sgt Flintwich - You are correct with St Symphorien, so should pick up the gauntlet    - (Rose Coombes, as mentioned by Martin, was the original source. I had double-checked in my very old and very dog-eared copy of Before Endeavours Fade).

I think I have to agree with what Ms Coombes said with regards to the "unusual" layout of this cemetery. It does have a pretty unique atmosphere and charm, and it also has more than its fair share of "stories to tell". I doubt though that it gets anything like the number of visitors of any similar sized cemetery on the Somme or the Salient, simply because of its location. In some ways that's maybe a good thing. If you are going to visit it then please note what follows !

Shirley - You mentioned "Mons Cemetery", and I should possibly suspect that you were thinking of the cemetery down the road at St Symphorien ? - Or, did you really mean "Mons" as in the CWGC plot in Mons (Bergen) Communal Cemetery ? (HERE).

That is also a quite fascinating cemetery. The communal cemetery is vast and its a bit of a treck from the entrance to the CWGC area, but the communal cemetery is interesting in its own right, and the CWGC plot and the plots about it are well worth a stroll. The burials are mainly British, French, Belgian, and German military - the Belgian burials spanning a much longer period than WW1. There is even an unknown Rumanian soldier buried there, and many civilians, some with headstone references to "war related" deaths. Possibly the least visited "substantial" CWGC site from the Great War ? It is fairly close to the centre of Mons and has easy parking. It, and St Symphorien, with lunch in Mons, easily qualify as a day's visit if you are staying elsewhere on the Western Front.

Tom

 Mons Communal Cemetery f (8).JPG   49.61K   0 downloads

[flintwich]

Thank you, Tom.



As a relevant newcomer to all  things WW1, my knowledge is scarce but will try to test you all with this image.

Who am I and what did I do.

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[CROONAERT]

flintwich, on 01 July 2011 - 02:49 PM, said:

Who am I and what did I do.

Sluiswachter Hendrik Geeraert ... assisted the Belgian army in opening the floodgates on the Ijzer.

Dave

[flintwich]

6 minutes is that some kind of record ?

Well done Croonaert, I expect a more challenging test from you.

[paul@bolton]

Just out of interest, where is that photo taken?

(I've been looking for a set of net curtains in that design for ages)

[CROONAERT]

flintwich, on 01 July 2011 - 03:02 PM, said:

6 minutes is that some kind of record ?

No... I got post #587 in 5


Dave

[CROONAERT]

paul@bolton, on 01 July 2011 - 03:08 PM, said:

Just out of interest, where is that photo taken?

Cafe de Sluiswachter at Nieupoort (though it should have been on the Taverne de Gansepoot)

[ShirlD]

I come in from an evening out and we have whistled through a cemetery and a fearsome looking object !
I confess I was looking for clues Tom, and it may well have been St. Symphorien.   Anyway, I would love to hop on a plane and visit, this is the next best thing!
Cheers
Shirley

[CROONAERT]

OK, here's the next one...

I'm standing next to a very significant grave in a  military cemetery in France (its possibly even one of the most significant war graves of the whole war!) and is marked accordingly.

The occupant of the grave used to live in the town where this cemetery is located.

His individual grave is next to a mass-grave which is overlooked by a large stone eagle commemorating a flying service.

There are a number of regimental memorials in the cemetery.

about half of the graves are on what must be the steepest hill that I've ever seen a military cemetery constructed on!

Where am I and whose grave am I visiting?

Dave

[flintwich]

CROONAERT, on 01 July 2011 - 03:21 PM, said:

Cafe de Sluiswachter at Nieupoort (though it should have been on the Taverne de Gansepoot)

He lived above Taverne de Gansepoot, but his favourite pub was Cafe de Sluiswachter, hence the bust being here and not in the space above the other pub.

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[59165]

Les terrasses d'Illfurth?Quite a cemetery.
There is an eagle there but,any name alludes me.

[59165]

Lt.Mayer!?!!? (Meyer?)
This was your 1st.deaths quest a while back?Can't recall.

[CROONAERT]

It is, indeed, Lt. Albert Otto Walter Mayer at Illfurth, Dave.  Killed minutes before the widely accepted first death of the war. Originally buried at Joncherey churchyard but transferred to here in the 1920's. It also happens to be the most southerly German military cemetery on the western front, (Full story for anyone interested can be found HERE )


Over to you I think...

Dave

(PS.... 1976?)

[59165]

CROONAERT, on 01 July 2011 - 10:24 PM, said:

Over to you I think...
Dave
(PS.... 1976?)

As much as I've always admired your researching skills,that is just too spooky!You got a chrystal ball ? '76 is too close to call.
It was '77.My 1st battlefield tour/family holiday & 1st time seeing the Gate ceremony (which I seem to recall had 2 buglers,one at each end but am probably wrong.)

Next question is open to anyone as it's a bit late & I have a birthday BBQ to do tomorrow for a host of 70/80 yr old ex pats.

[sabine72]

I'll take you up for this one
I'm standing in a cemetery officialy a CWGC one only the text on the gate is not in english
I saw a bird that can not be seen in ieper even I am in belgium.
sabine

[sabine72]

little pic

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[SteveMarsdin]

Zeebrugge CWGC cemetery, Sabine.

[Siege Gunner]

Isn't it known as Zeebrugge Churchyard?

[sabine72]

Steve, Siege, I am at zeebrugge church yard well I was last thuesday,I should of left the picture out
sabine

[SteveMarsdin]

Sabine, does the ivy still obscure the sign over the entrance ?

I'll try and think of a question later today or Mick can have another go ?

[Siege Gunner]

Well, I only tweaked the cemetery name, but if Steve isn't ready to set a new one, I'll step into the breach.

This site, with WW2 connections, is on the opposite side of a village to the location of an RNAS station that bore the name of the village.  What is the name of the village?

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[MartinBennitt]

Capel-le-Ferne?

cheers Martin B

[ShirlD]

Is this on the south coast of England?   (it is good that you have more clues than a cemetery overlooking the ocean   )
cheers
Shirley

[David Faulder]

Siege Gunner, on 02 July 2011 - 12:49 PM, said:

>><<
This site, with WW2 connections, is on the opposite side of a village to the location of an RNAS station that bore the name of the village.  What is the name of the village?

So the site in the photo (three vague grassy knolls probably on a cliff top overlooking the sea) is on the opposite side of a village from an RNAS that shares its name.

The Fleet Air Arm Archive lists rather a lot of Naval aviation stations and most have two names; HMS something and the name of their location - and most of the locations look like villages rather than towns!  So it's back to the grassy knolls as the major clue!

Would they be the remains of a coastal battery?

David