Cité Bonjean Military Cemetery, 2004-2005
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My great uncle, Walter Sinclair Smith, was one of the first soldiers to be buried in what would later become the Cité Bonjean Military Cemetery at Armentieres. He was killed by a stray bullet fired during the unofficial Christmas truce of 1914 (see the 'Leslie Smith family in WW1' page for more details about this).
Walter's parents and immediate family visited his grave in the early 1920s, and I believe his brothers visited again in the 1950s or early 60s. However my mother and her cousin, his neices, and my sisters and I, have never been able to go to the cemetery to visit his grave. It is something we still hope to do one day.
Once again, though, we benefit from the kindness of others. In January, Bernard Cousin, a farmer from Houplines Frelinghien near Armentieres, visited this site. He has long been interested in the story of the 1914 Christmas truce, and in fact he farms land which include some of the areas where the truce was informally celebrated by the soldiers occupying the trenches there - the "Christmas Truce fields". He visited the Cité Bonjean Military Cemetery to find Walter's grave and pay his respects, and emailed us some photographs from that visit. Some of these photographs are shown below.
Bernard also sent us some photographs he took in August 2004, when young people from the local towns played a football match on a neighbouring football pitch and laid flowers at the memorials in the cemetery.
My sincere thanks, Bernard, for you kindness in sending us these pictures.
January 2005
Main entrance to the cemetery.
Looking along the inside of the main entrance, towards the ceremonial cross.
Inscription on the entrance.
The inscription above reads:
"The land on which this cemetery stands is the free gift of the French people for the perpetual resting place of those of the allied armies who fell in the war of 1914-1918 and are honoured here."
The British section of the cemetery.
The memorial plinth is inscribed:
"Their name liveth for evermore"
Walter's gravestone on the left.
Walter's gravestone.
The stone is engraved:
"6179 Corporal W.S.Smith, The Cameronians (Sco.Rif.), 26th December 1914, Age 20. In loving memory of a dear son and brother."
August 2004
Young people laying flowers to honour the French soldiers buried at Cité Bonjean.
Young people laying flowers to honour the British soldiers buried at Cité Bonjean.
Football team lineup.
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Acceptable use
The photographs shown on this page, and the copyright in these images, belong to Bernard Cousin. Please contact either Bernard (at b.cousin@terre-net.fr) or myself (at dms@zetnet.co.uk) to request permission to use these photographs. Thank you.
Photographs used by kind permission of Mr B Cousin. All rights reserved.
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/dms/past/bonjean1.html
© 2005 Donna Smillie <dms@zetnet.co.uk>