The cemetery was established beside a building known as Essex House and the cemetery is a very good example of a regimental cemetery, many similar cemeteries were made during 1914 and 1915. See the nearby Gunners Farm Cemetery, Tancrez Farm Military Cemetery, Le Touquet (Railway) Crossing Cemetery, and Motor Car Corner Cemetery. The order of the burials gives you a good insight into the dates each regiment was in the line in the area. The cemetery was begun in November 1914, however there is a King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment) grave in Row N from 22 October 1914. The cemetery was begun by the 2nd Essex and 2nd Monmouthshire Regiments (Rows A to M of Plot I), continued by the 9th Royal Fusiliers and the 11th Middlesex Regiment (Plot I, Row O), the 7th Suffolk and 9th Essex Regiments (Plot II), the 6th Buffs (Plot III), and the 1/7th and 1/8th Worcestershire Regiment (Plot IV, Rows A to C). Apart from two later burials, the cemetery was completed by the 11th Queen's Royal West Surrey and 10th Royal West Kent Regiments in June and July 1916. It was in German hands from 10 April to 29 September 1918.
I have taken a small sample from the various regiments, of the men who are buried here. They are listed in day/month/year of death. There are eight boy soldiers buried here. Four of the dead are aged 16 and four aged 17. There are two men from the Monmouthshire Regiment who were killed during the Christmas truce of 1914.
1182 Private George Robinson, 1st Battalion King’s Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment),12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 22 October 1914. Grave I.N.4. The Battalion was in the line at Le Touquet just south of the River Warnave. At dawn on 21 October the Germans made a strong attack on the positions at Le Gheer. The enemy got behind the left flank of ‘A’ and ‘C’ Company who were forced to retire 200 yards and dig in and half of ‘B’ Company was sent up to reinforce them. The trenches lost near the railway were retaken at once however, they could not recover the other trenches lost. The War Diary records the Battalion casualties as 3 Officers killed, 4 wounded, and 2 missing. Other Ranks 21 killed, 78 wounded, and 76 missing. Two of the three officers killed are buried in La Touquet (Railway Crossing) Cemetery, and one is listed on the Ploegsteert Memorial Panel 2.
Captain Arthur Hugh Percy Rose, 2nd Battalion Essex Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 23 November 1914. Grave I.C.1 Son of Major General James Rose (late A.D.C. to H.M. Queen Victoria) and Mrs Rose. He was the husband of Lilian Rose, The Cottage, Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire. He was a veteran of the wars in South Africa and saw service with the 1st Battalion in India. On his return in 1906 he joined the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Essex Regiment, which became the 5th Battalion in the 1908 Haldane reforms, and retired as a Captain in 1912 joining the 3rd Battalion (Special Reserve). He joined the 2nd Battalion on the outbreak of war. He was killed in the trenches at Le Touquet Crossing on the morning of 23 November.
2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment Casualties
There are two men from the 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division who were killed on the same day. 46 Private George Thomas Lester, killed in action on 14 December 1914, age 34. Grave I.A.1 Employed as a coal miner. He was from Pontypool and was married to Lucy Jane. They had four children. Lucy remarried on 30 April 1917. 1585 Private David Jenkins Roberts, killed in action 14 December 1914, Age 22. Grave I.B.7. Employed as a Blacksmiths Striker, working beside his father who was Foreman, at the local colliery, he lived with his parents, brother and three sisters. The Battalion was in the trenches between the River Warnave and the railway line at Le Touquet. The War Diary recording that the communication trench was initially very good however, in their second period in the line between 10 to 14 December the communication trench became flooded and was impossible to use. This meant moving in the open and their losses became more frequent. The War Diary recording losses in this period of 9 Other Ranks killed and 19 wounded.
Christmas Truce Casualties
528 Sergeant Frank Collins, 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 25 December 1914, age 39. Grave I.B.9. Employed as a postman before enlisting. He was married with three children and they lived at Priory Cottage, White Cross Street, Monmouth. In a letter dated 25 December to Frank Collins wife, which was published in the South Wales Weekly Argus, his Colonel expresses his sympathy that her husband had been killed in action on the morning of the 25 December. He wrote: ‘He had been shot in the chest, and died without suffering any pain whatever at 10.45am. The Sergt-Major and myself were with him to the end. He was quite unconscious.’ In a subsequent letter published in the same paper one of Frank’s comrades Sergeant Jones wrote angrily of the real circumstances of Frank’s death: ‘I took some tobacco and jam to the Germans.. Another sergeant, a pal of mine from Monmouth, did the same, but when he was coming back to the trench they shot him through the back and killed him.’ The Germans in the trench opposite later sent an apology. 2341 Private Ernest Palfrey, 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 25 December 1914, age 21. Grave I.A.9. Employed as a miner before enlisting. Son of Charles and Ann Palfrey, Ael-Y-Bryn, Ffrwd Road, Abersychan, Monmouthshire. Ernest had been burying dead comrades and was returning to his trench when he was shot. A report in the South Wales Echo states that ‘A truce was supposed to be prevailing but Private Palfrey received a bullet in the back of his neck which killed him instantly.’ The Battalion was in the trenches between the River Warnave and the railway line at Le Touquet and occupied the trenches during the period 14 December to 29 December 1914. They could not use the communication trench and reliefs and ration parties had to move unprotected in the open. The War Diary recorded that ‘Curiously no casualties occurred in relieving.’ On Christmas day the War Diary recorded ‘On Xmas day practically no firing took place on either side by mutual agreement. The opportunity was made use of to ascertain what German regiment opposed us.’ The War Dairy records the casualties for the period 14 to 29 December as five killed, and 6 wounded.
Boy Soldiers
In the Ypres Salient, we are drawn to the graves of 6322 Private John Condon, 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment, killed in action in May 1915, age 14 and the youngest known battle casualty of the war, although this is now questioned, and the grave of 5750 Valentine Strudwick, 8th Rifle Brigade, killed in action in January 1916, age 15. Strudwicks grave attracts a great deal of attention because of its location at Essex Farm and that locations association with Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae and the poem ‘In Flanders Fields.’ There are many more ‘Boy Soldiers’ buried across the Salient and who are uncelebrated. There were many reasons why under age boys enlisted in 1914 and 1915 boredom with their jobs, looking for adventure, and escaping family pressures. The checks on age and qualification to enlist were more relaxed than later in the war. The army preferred younger recruits, there was a history of boy soldiers in the army going back over one hundred years. At Waterloo the army had a number of boy soldiers in their ranks. The army preferred younger recruits as they would follow orders and accept discipline more readily than older men. The boys had a belief in their own indestructibility and were prepared to take more risks. We tend to also forget the number of boys who served in the Royal Navy and we do not seem to have the same passionate response to their service as we do those who fought on the Western Front. With regards to army, the difference was the sheer number who served on the Western Front and there were more boy soldiers in 1915 than served in Wellington’s army at Waterloo. For further reading on this subject see Richard Van Emden’s excellent book Boy Soldiers of the Great War.
There are eight buried here who were age sixteen and seventeen years of age when they were killed in action.
Four Age 16:
2192 Private Arthur William Day, 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 3 February 1915, age 16. Grave I.F.10. Son of William. H. and Elizabeth Ann Day, Cwrdy Cottage, Griffiths Town, Newport, Monmouth. The Battalion was in the line at Le Touquet and holding the line here and the second line at ‘Seven Trees’. They were working on improving their trenches. The War Diary records casualties for the period 1 to 14 February as 4 killed and 6 wounded. 2932 Rifleman John Francis (Frank) Saunders, 5th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 24 February 1915, age 16. Grave I.H.6. Son of John Thomas and Sarah Alice Saunders, 26 Grafton Street, St. Helens, Lancs. The Battalion moved up from Le Havre on 14 February and went into the trenches at Le Touquet with their HQ in Le Bizet on 16 February. Here ‘C’ Company underwent trench instruction attached to the Lancashire Fusiliers and ‘A’ and ‘B’ Company attached to the 2nd Monmouthshire Regiment. ‘D’ Company went into the line for instruction on 26 February. On the 24 February the War Diary recorded ‘1 Rifleman killed and 2 wounded.’ 2130 Private Harry Shaw, 2nd Battalion Monmouthshire Regiment, 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Division. Killed in action 12 March 1915, age 16. Grave I.J.3. Son of W. Henry and Blanche Shaw, 23 Avon Road, Blaenavon, Monmouth. The Battalion was in the trenches at Le Touquet. They rotated in and out of the front line. Casualties for the period 1 to 15 March were recorded as 1 Officer killed and 1 wounded. Other Ranks 3 killed and 21 wounded.
G/3974 Private John Seaman, 6th Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), 37th Infantry Brigade, 12th Division. Killed in action 10 July 1915, age 16. Grave III.A.5. Son of William and Margaret Seaman, Southgate, London. The Battalion had left Romarin on 10 July to relieve the 11th Middlesex in the line near Le Touquet and had their Battalion HQ at Despierre Farm. The War Diary records his death as 11 July. On that day at 6.45pm the Germans blew a mine 15 yards in front of the British trench known as the Fort which was held by ‘B’ Company this wounded one man and debris fell back on others. The Battalion then blew up the position known as Monmouth House on report that the Germans had blown up Fort, although Fort had not been blown up. Fort had not been evacuated. Monmouth House was reoccupied and repaired and the Fort repaired. During this action the Battalion suffered another two wounded and two killed. One of the killed was John.
Four Age 17:
2354 Private Alfred Hill, 1st/7th Battalion Worcestershire Regiment, 144th Infantry Brigade, 48th Division. Killed in action 10 May 1915, age 17. Grave IV.A.5. Son of David and Sarah Hill, 29 Reddins Street, Old Hill, Dudley. His brother Joseph served in the Royal Engineers. On the 30 April the Battalion took over from the 2nd Monmouthshire of the 4th Division the trenches immediately south of the River Warnave, left flank of the Battalion on the line of the river. The 1/7th Worcestershire were relieved by its sister Battalion the 1/8th in those trenches on the last day of April 1915. For some two months the two Battalions held alternately that same line of trenches. When out of the line the two Battalions were billeted either in Brigade reserve at Ploegsteert or in Divisional reserve at Pont de Nieppe. The Battalion casualties for the time in this sector for May were 5 Officers killed, Other Ranks 11 killed, 42 wounded. L/10670 Private Albert John Leat, ‘C’ Company, 6th Battalion The Queen’s (Royal West Surrey Regiment), 37th Infantry Brigade, 12th Division. Killed in action 28 June 1915, age 17. Grave I.N.3. Son of William Alf and Alice Louisa Leat, 7 Grey Villas, Russell Road, Horsell, Woking. The Battalion landed in France in early June 1915 and on the 28 June the Battalion was in the Frelinghien sector occupying the trenches numbered 1-5 and Fort Paul and Dudley north of Le Touquet. On the 28 June the War Diary recorded casualties as Other Ranks 2 killed, 5 wounded. G/3067 Private Arthur Fredrick Huckstep, 6th Battalion The Buffs (East Kent Regiment), 37th Infantry Brigade, 12th Division. Killed in action 31 August 1915, age 17. Grave III.C.4. Son of Stephen and Elizabeth Huckstep, of Belmont, Garlinge, Margate. The Battalion was occupying the trenches north of Le Touquet to the River Warnave. They killed two German snipers in the vicinity of Monmouth House with one of the snipers being clothed in sandbags for camouflage and the other had his head in a sandbag. The Germans shelled the Despierre Farm in the rear of the Battalion line and also shelled ‘C’ Company position at Essex Farm Central and Seven Trees Fort. An enemy aircraft dropped a bomb in the vicinity of ‘B’ Company HQ. The War Diary reported that Battalion casualties for 31 August were 2 wounded. It would seem that Arthur died of his wounds.
G/8674 Private Stephen Alfred Barnes, 10th Battalion Queen’s Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), 123rd Infantry Brigade, 41st Division. Killed in action 19 July 1916, age 17. Grave IV.D.12. Son of Albert and Mary Anne Barnes. Native of New Romney, Kent. The Battalion was in the trenches north of Le Touquet to the River Warnave. On the night of 19 July they sent a wiring party out to strengthen their line. The party came under fire and the resulting casualties were 1 Officer killed, 1 wounded. Other Ranks 7 killed, 4 wounded.
The cemetery was designed by G H Goldsmith.
Cemetery Location
Calvaire (Essex) Military Cemetery is located 16 km from Ieper town centre, on a road leading from the N365, connecting Ieper to Wijtschate, Ploegsteert and on to Armentieres. From Ieper town centre the Rijselsestraat runs from the market square, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort) and directly over the crossroads with the Ieper ring road. The road name then changes to the Rijselseweg. 2 km after passing through the village of Ploegsteert lies the left hand turning onto Witteweg (Chemin de la Blanche). The cemetery lies 2 km along the Witteweg on the right-hand side of the road.
Burials
There are now 218 First World War burials in the cemetery.
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