Atworth lies on the A 365 in West Wiltshire. I couldn’t help noticing its War Memorial as we passed through, and of course stopped to photograph it. It turned out to be a repurposed clock tower originally erected to commemorate Queen Victoria as the longest reigning UK monarch, which the plaque here notes. Note Great War 100th anniversary bench:-

Great War dedication. The cartouche also lists the names of those who served in The Great War:-

Second World War Dedication, below the depiction of Queen Victoria.  This Roll of Honour for those who served begins with the name of one serviceman killed. Note Second World War memorial bench, complete with dove of peace:-

In a small cemetery beside Atworth War Memorial lies the grave of Driver A R Brown, Royal Army Service Corps, died 6/6/1917, aged 22:-

Today is Armistice Day, which ended the hostilities of the Great War 106 years ago.

I posted some photos of Duhallow War Cemetery yesterday but today I’m concentrating on the Great War dead. Duhallow contains graves of men from several of the armies involved in that conflict.

The next two photos feature pillars which note the men commemorated there were originally buried in other cemeteries which were destroyed in later battles.

Crescent of Headstones; original burials in Fusilier Wood:-

Line of Headstones; transferred from Malakoff Farm Cemetery:-

I presumed these markers denoted the graves of brothers Privates W & A Barr, Seaforth Highlanders, 9/1/1918:-

I found two French graves.

Jules Viard and Jean Carret, both mort pour la France, 24/10/1918:-

And a Belgian grave, of Antoine Vandegam, died 19/10/1918. The photo also shows the graves of Sapper, J Rooney, RE, October, 1918 aged 25 and Serjeant P Hackett, Leinster Regiment, 18/10/1918:-

Star of David headstone for Private S Margolis, Labour Corps, 9/1/1918, aged 24, flanked by Private P Montague, Seaforth Highlanders, 9/1/1918 and Private W Middleton, Seaforth Highlanders, 9/1/1918:-

Two Germans; Curt Hoyer, Grenadier, 16/10/1918 and Johann Hobelsberger, Private, date of death obscured:-

The front row below is for other German war dead:-

For Remembrance Day.

Duhallow is one of the many War Cemeteries you come upon in and around Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium. It lies beside the Diksmuidseweg on the  road designated N369 leading more or less north out of Ypres. In it there lie the remains of 1544 Commonwealth casualties plus 57 graves of other nationalities.

Cemetery from road:-

View from gates:-

Graves:-

One of the graves is of a Second World War soldier, Private D Morrell, Durham Light Infantry, who died on 29/5/1940, aged 21:-

Just across the road from St Martin’s Kirk and towards Haddington town centre lies St Martin’s Cemetery. It had the Commonwealth War Graves sign on it.

On entering I immediately saw the Cross of Sacrifice, which means there are at least 30 war graves within. In fact there are 48.  All for the Second World War .

Flight Sergeant M J Turner, RAAF, 12/8/1944, aged 27, Flight Sergeant J H Barnes, Navigator, RAF, 15/4/1945, aged 28, Flight Sergeant R H Pye, RAAF, 12/8/1944, aged 19, Flying Officer R E Wiliams, Navigator, RCAF, 20/4/1945, aged 20.

Flying Officer H K L Rice, Pilot, RNZAF, 3/5/1945, aged 21, Sergeant W Gourlay, Rear Gunner, RAF, 20/4/1945, aged 22, Flying Officer H A Smith, U/T Pilot, RAF, 21/6/1945, aged 21.

Larger group of graves:-

Some graves were set out singly.

Gunner A Stewart, Royal Artillery, 13/1/1942, aged 37.

Private R Burgoyne, The Sherwood Foresters, 7/10/1940, aged 26.

Captain C S H Wilson, Highland Light Infantry, 13/12/1942, aged 27.

Serjeant A J Macdonald, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineeers, 23/1/0/1944, aged 30.

There were also two gravestone dedications to war dead.

Frank Turner, died on active service in Burma, 7/6/1942, aged 30.

Norman Begg Morrison, killed in action, 7/9/1941, aged 19, interred Western Cemetery, Oslo.

Across the access road from the War Cemetery at Oosterbeek is the civil cemetery. On its gates it had a Commonwealth War Graves sign. These graves were of RAF personnel shot down in earlier years of World War 2 while on bombing missions.

Sergeant F T Lay, Flight Engineer, RAF, 3/2/43, aged 21, Pilot Officer W M Smith, RAF, 29/7/1942 and Sergeant A Aldridge, Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, 29/7/1942, aged 20:-

Sergeant J P Harper, Flight Engineer, RAF, 19/7/1943, aged 21, Sergeant C A S Barnett, Navigator, RAF, 15/7/1943, aged 19 and Sergeant H Biggin, RAF Volunteer Reserve, 15/7/1943:-

Sergeant J W Deacon, Air Bomber, RAF, 15/7/1943, aged 20, Sergeant H R Rhodes, Air Gunner, RAF, 15/7/1943, aged 22 and Sergeant G S Cole, Pilot, RAF, 15/7/1943:-

Inside the cemetery by the hedge at the roadside was this structure made of metal hexagons. I couldn’t see a sign indicating what it was:-

There were three more unusually shaped headstones at Oosterbeek War Cemetery. Looking at their dedications and dates of death I assume these are the graves of caretakers employed by the Commision to tend the cemetery. There is a tradition of these caretakers marrying locally and, especially in Northern France, of their children taking over the job on their retirement.

Herbert Alaster Denham, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 31/8/1963, aged 49.

Percy Henry Dawson, 24/5/1987 aged 71 and William Gregory, 20/10/1988, aged 80:-

And here’s another panorama of war graves within the cemetey:-

At Oosterbeek I found three graves of Dutch soldiers. Again with distinctive headstones, this time rounded.

J Groenewoud, 8/11/1916-18/9/1944. (He was the only Dutchman to fight at John Frostbrug):-

A M Bakhuis Roozeboom, 10/7/1922 – 19/9/1944:-

S Swarts, 26/7/1917 – 20/9/1944:-

Many Polish soldiers lie buried at Oosterbeek.

A row of their distinctive pointed headstones is to the right here:-

Similar rows flank the entrance buildings:-

A Liczner, 3 Baon Spad, 27/9/1944:-

E Morchonowicz, 3 Baon Spad, 23/9/1944:-

A Polish Member of the Parachute Regiment, Private F P Dobrozyski, 19/9/1944, age 26:-

Commonwealth War Graves near entrance:-

Three soldiers known only unto God:-

Panorama showing Cross of Sacrifice and back to entrance buildings:-

East edge:-

Panorama towards entrance:-

Jewish Grave. G A Emmanuel, Parachute Regiment, 20/8/1944, aged 28:-

Unusually this headstone has marbling at its top. Private A W Penwill, Parachute Regiment, 18/9/1944, aged 28:-

I couldn’t visit Arnhem without going to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery near Oosterbeek, the place where many casualties of the attempt to capture the John Frost Bridge during Operation Market Garden are buried.

The cemetery is in a quiet location off a side road up a side road.

The path from the car park takes you past the cemetery identifier:-

Beside that is this domed pillar marking local children’s annual commemoration of the battle:-

This plaque beside the entrance informs us that 1754 soldiers or airmen are buried within:-

War Graves Commission information board. More than 90 Polish members of the Parachute Brigade are buried here. I also noted three Dutch graves while walking round:-

View of cemetery from gates, Stone of Remembrance to fore and Cross of Sacrifice behind:-

Cross of Sacrifice. British poppy wreaths with Netherlands wreath on grass:-

As in most Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries the gates are flanked by two buildings which usually contain lists of the buried and the locations within the cemetery of their graves:-

On the wall of one of these were two plaques describing the Arnhem Battle and its place within the wider campaign to liberate Western Europe:-