CITÉ BONJEAN MILITARY CEMETERY
Armentieres
Nord
France
General Directions: Armentieres is a town in the Department of the Nord, on the Belgian frontier, 14.5 kilometres north-west of Lille. From the town of Armentieres take the D945 to Estaires. Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery is signposted off this road just before Erquinghem-sur-la-Lys.
Armentieres was occupied by the 4th Division on 17 October 1914 and it remained within the Allied lines until its evacuation ahead of the German advance on 10 April 1918, after a prolonged and heavy bombardment with gas shell. It was occupied by the Germans next day, and was not recovered until 3 October 1918. Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery was begun (Plot IX) in October 1914 and during the winter of 1914-15 it was used for civilian burials, the town cemetery at Le Bizet being too greatly exposed; the civilian graves are now in a separate enclosure. The cemetery continued to be used by field ambulances and fighting units (partly the 4th, 6th, 21st, New Zealand, 17th and 57th (West Lancashire) Divisions and the Australian Corps) until April 1918. Plots V, VI, VII and X were then used by the Germans. In 1925, 455 German graves were removed from Plots V and VI, but almost 500 remain in the cemetery.
Shot at Dawn: Private F. C. H. Bladen, 10th Bn. Yorks and Lancs Regt., executed for desertion 23/03/1916, plot 9. G. 94.
Private A. H. Robinson, 9th Bn. Northumberland Fusiliers, executed for desertion 10/05/1916, plot 1. A. 18.
Private J Higgins, 1st/9th Bn. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, executed for desertion 26/08/1916, plot 1. F. 22.
Private T. H. B. Rigby, 10th Bn. South Wales Borderers, executed for desertion 22/11/1917, plot 2. A. 3.
Casualty Details: UK 1190, Canada 16, Australia 473, New Zealand 453, Germany 472, Total Burials: 2604
49202 Pioneer
Andrew Brown McAuley Munn
33rd Div. Signal Company
Royal Engineers
16/09/1915, aged 21.
Son of James Munn and Margaret McAulay Munn of 42, Crown Ave, Clydebank, Scotland.
Picture courtesy of his Great granddaughter, Karen Petts
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