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THE Commune of Mesnil-Martinsart, in
the Departtnent of the Somme, includes the two villages of Mesnil and
Martinsart. Mesnil is a little West of the Amiens-Lille main railway
line and the River Ancre; and Martinsart, further South-West, is divided
from the railway by Aveluy Wood. The nearest considerable railway station
is Beaucourt-Hamel, but the light railway from Doullens to Albert has
a station at Mesnil village. Both villages were close to the British
front line until September, 1916, and again from March to August, 1918.
MARTINSART BRITISH CEMETERY is on the
South side of Martinsart village, beside the road to Aveluy. It was
begun at the end of June, 1916, when 14 men of the 13th Royal Irish
Rifles, killed by a shell, were buried in what is now Plot I, Row A.
It was used as a front-line cemetery until October, 1916, and again
in September, 1918, when the V Corps buried in it a number of officers
and men whose bodies were found on the battlefield; and it was enlarged
after the Armistice by the concentration of 346 graves from the area
North, East and South of the village. It now contains the graves of
377 soldiers from the United Kingdom, eight from New Zealand, one from
Australia, and 96 whose unit in our forces could not be ascertained;
and 16 German prisoners were buried in it. The unnamed graves number
156, and special memorials are erected to six soldiers from the United
Kingdom believed to be buried among them.
The cemetery covers an area of 2,395
square yards. It is bounded on three sides by a hornbeam hedge, and
on the North and East by a red brick wall. It stands on high ground
among cultivated fields. The Cross, on the North side, is flanked by
scarlet thorns.
Number of burials by Unit
| Lancashire Fusiliers |
68
|
|
Royal Welsh Fusiliers |
29
|
| Welsh Regt. |
20
|
|
23rd Bn. London Regt. |
19
|
| Royal Irish Rifles |
18
|
|
Highland Light Infantry |
14
|
| Durham Light Infantry |
12
|
|
Northumberland Fusiliers |
12
|
| Cheshire
Regt. |
11
|
|
Royal
Scots - Lothian Regt. |
11
|
| Royal Garrison Artillery |
9
|
|
Machine Gun Corps
- Infantry |
8
|
| New Zealand |
8
|
|
Royal Field Artillery |
8
|
| Royal Naval Division |
8
|
|
Sherwood Foresters
- Notts. & Derbys. Regt. |
8
|
| Rifle Brigade |
5
|
|
Royal Engineers |
5
|
| Royal Fusiliers -
City of London Regt. |
5
|
|
York & Lancaster
Regt. |
5
|
| 20th Bn. London Regt.
- Blackheath & Woolwich |
4
|
|
Leicestershire Regt. |
4
|
| Queen's - Royal West
Surrey Regt. |
4
|
|
Royal Berkshire Regt. |
4
|
| West Yorkshire Regt. |
4
|
|
15th Bn. London Regt.
- PWO, Civil Service Rifles |
2
|
| 22nd Bn. London Regt.
- The Queen's |
2
|
|
Buffs - East Kent
Regt. |
2
|
| King's Own Yorkshire
Light Infantry |
2
|
|
Lincolnshire Regt. |
2
|
| Norfolk
Regt. |
2
|
|
12th Bn.
London Regt. - The Rangers |
1
|
| 16th Bn. London Regt.-Queen's
Westminster Rifles |
1
|
|
24th Bn. London Regt.
- The Queen's |
1
|
| 7th Bn. London Regt. |
1
|
|
Bedfordshire Regt. |
1
|
| Dorsetshire Regt. |
1
|
|
Duke of Wellington's
- West Riding Regt. |
1
|
| East Yorkshire Regt. |
1
|
|
Gordon Highlanders |
1
|
| Honourable Artillery
Company |
1
|
|
King's Own Royal Lancaster
Regt. |
1
|
| King's Royal Rifle
Corps |
1
|
|
North Staffordshire
Regt. |
1
|
| Ox. & Bucks. Light
Infantry |
1
|
|
Royal Flying Corps/Royal
Air Force |
1
|
| Royal
Irish Fusiliers |
1
|
|
Royal
Warwickshire Regt. |
1
|
| Identified burials
|
332
|
|
|
|
| Unidentified UK
burials: |
59
|
|
|
|
| Unidentified Australian
burials: |
1
|
|
|
|
| Wholly unknown |
90
|
|
|
|
| Total Unidentified
burials |
150
|
|
|
|
| Total burials |
482
|
|
|
|
Plan of this Cemetery
Those having awards in this cemetery
Pte. Charles Frederick Bullock M.M., 15th Bn. London Regt. (P.W.O.
Civil Service Rifles). Died 1st April 1918, aged 34. Assistant, Free
Library,Cardiff for 16 years. 1.F.57
Sgt. C. Greenwood, Croix de Guerre (Belgium). "C" Bty.
48th Brig. Royal Field Artillery. Died 28th March 1918, aged 29. 1.G.38
Lt. Cmdr. F. S. Kelly, D.S.C., R.N.V.R. "Hood" Bn.
Royal Naval Division. Died 13th Nov. 1916. He was one of the pall bearers
at Rupert Brookes funeral. 1.H.25
Sgt. R. R. Lowery M.M., 19th Bn. Durham Light Infantry. Died
23rd April 1918, aged 21. 1.G.13
Pte. Eben Morris M.M., 1/4th Bn. Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Killed
in action 6th April 1918, aged 22. 1.F.8
Ftr. James Frederick Morris M.S.M., "C" Bty. 48th Brig.
Royal Field Artillery. Killed in action 28th March 1918, aged 28. 1.G.34
Pte. C. E. Omer D.C.M., "C" Coy. 1/23rd Bn. London
Regt. Died 5th April 1918, aged 20. 1.G.8
L/Cpl. W. E. Pearce M.M., 13th Bn. The Rifle Brigade, died 14th
Nov. 1916. 1.H.28
Pte. E. H. Thorne M.M., 9th Bn. Royal Fusiliers (City of London
Regt.) Killed in action 27th March 1918, aged 30. 2.C.3
Pte. G. Walton M.M., 1/23rd Bn. London Regt. Died 5th April 1918.
1.F.31
Others buried in this cemetery
Pte. John Smith Davidson Baigrie, 18th Bn. Highland Light Infantry.
Died 20th May 1918, aged 18. Deputy Assistant Scout Master of the 8th
Midlothian Troop Boy Scouts. Native of Newbattle, Dalkeith. 1.F.62
Col. Herbert Clifford Bernard, Commanding 10th Bn. Royal Irish
Rifles. Killed in action at Thiepval Wood, 1st July 1916, aged 50. Born
at Cheltenham. Served in the Burmese War (1885-1891). Commanded the
45th (Rattray's) Sikhs from 1909 to 1914, after which he retired from
the Indian Army. 1.A.16
Pte. Thomas John Brightwell, 18th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers, formerly
Northants. Yeomanry. Killed in action 1st June 1918, aged 34. Born at
Wellington, Nilgiri, India. Left his farm in Saskatchewan, Canada at
the outbreak of War and came home to enlist. 1.B.14
Pte. John Fannon (served as Crane). 1st Bn. West Yorkshire Regt.
Died 10th Oct. 1916, aged 29. 1.A.24
Pte. Ernest Hallett, 1/23rd Bn. London Regt. Killed in action
5th April 1918, aged 19. Enlisted Oct. 1915. 1.D.9
Pte. John Albert Sharp (served as G. E. Woolf).17th Bn. Lancashire
Fusiliers, died 1st June 1918, aged 35. 1.E.11
Pte. Ronald Everest Simpson, 18th Bn. Lancashire Fusiliers. Killed
in action 16th April 1918, aged 32. Formerly served with 2nd King Edward's
Horse. Came from Canada to enlist. 1.D.46
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