FOSSE NO. 10 COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION
Sains-en-Gohelle
Pas De Calais
France
GPS Coordinates - Latitude: 50.44656, Longitude: 2.68524
Location Information
Sains-en-Gohelle is an old mining village 20 kilometres north of Arras in the direction of Bethune. Fosse 10 is by an old mine and group of miners houses on the southern outskirts of the village, approximately 10 kilometres west of Lens.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access to site possible, but may be by an alternative entrance.
The opening hours are 8.30 to 17.30 from Monday to Sunday
Historical Information
The Extension is on the South side of the Communal Cemetery. It was begun in April, 1916 and used continuously (chiefly by Field Ambulances) until October 1918. Of the Chinese labourers, seven were reburied in this cemetery after the Armistice from the following cemetery:- PETIT-CUINCY GERMAN CEMETERY, which was near the South side of the road from Cuincy to Esquerchin, in the commune of Cuincy. It contained, besides German graves, those of a small number of British soldiers, who were reburied after the Armistice in Douai British Cemetery. There are now nearly 500, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The Cemetery Extension covers an area of 2,134 square metres and is enclosed by a brick wall.
Total Burials: 472.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 257, Canada 214, Australia 1. Total 472.
Sains-en-Gohelle is an old mining village 20 kilometres north of Arras in the direction of Bethune. Fosse 10 is by an old mine and group of miners houses on the southern outskirts of the village, approximately 10 kilometres west of Lens.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access to site possible, but may be by an alternative entrance.
The opening hours are 8.30 to 17.30 from Monday to Sunday
Historical Information
The Extension is on the South side of the Communal Cemetery. It was begun in April, 1916 and used continuously (chiefly by Field Ambulances) until October 1918. Of the Chinese labourers, seven were reburied in this cemetery after the Armistice from the following cemetery:- PETIT-CUINCY GERMAN CEMETERY, which was near the South side of the road from Cuincy to Esquerchin, in the commune of Cuincy. It contained, besides German graves, those of a small number of British soldiers, who were reburied after the Armistice in Douai British Cemetery. There are now nearly 500, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The Cemetery Extension covers an area of 2,134 square metres and is enclosed by a brick wall.
Total Burials: 472.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 257, Canada 214, Australia 1. Total 472.
'Fosse No. 10' c.1910.
116280 Private
Frank Honeywell Magee
7th Bn. Canadian Infantry
24th January 1917, aged 24.
Plot I. A. 3.
Son of William Archibald and Margaret Ann Magee, of Sceptre, Saskatchewan
His headstone bears the inscription: "None Of Us Liveth To Himself And No Man Dieth To Himself."
Frank enlisted with the 11th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 22nd March 1915 in Vancouver as a private. His family was living in Kelowna and he listed his occupation as a Teamster. He was killed in action in the trenches northwest of Angres on 24 January 1917 and is buried in the Fosse 10 Communal Cemetery near Noeux-les-Mines. At the time he was part of the 7th Battalion, No. 116280, HQ file 649-M-12937. The cemetery location sheet is 44b.R.2..c.25.35.
Frank was born in Lowell, Massachusetts during the time that his father was working there as a blacksmith, although the family was originally from the Ottawa valley area in Canada. The family moved to western Canada where they farmed. There are several letters home that are poignant reminders of the affection held for his brothers and sisters and his father. Frank's mother had predeceased him. My grandmother was 20 years old at the time of his death and felt the death of her older brother keenly.
Picture and information courtesy of great nephew, Barry Keefe
Frank Honeywell Magee
7th Bn. Canadian Infantry
24th January 1917, aged 24.
Plot I. A. 3.
Son of William Archibald and Margaret Ann Magee, of Sceptre, Saskatchewan
His headstone bears the inscription: "None Of Us Liveth To Himself And No Man Dieth To Himself."
Frank enlisted with the 11th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 22nd March 1915 in Vancouver as a private. His family was living in Kelowna and he listed his occupation as a Teamster. He was killed in action in the trenches northwest of Angres on 24 January 1917 and is buried in the Fosse 10 Communal Cemetery near Noeux-les-Mines. At the time he was part of the 7th Battalion, No. 116280, HQ file 649-M-12937. The cemetery location sheet is 44b.R.2..c.25.35.
Frank was born in Lowell, Massachusetts during the time that his father was working there as a blacksmith, although the family was originally from the Ottawa valley area in Canada. The family moved to western Canada where they farmed. There are several letters home that are poignant reminders of the affection held for his brothers and sisters and his father. Frank's mother had predeceased him. My grandmother was 20 years old at the time of his death and felt the death of her older brother keenly.
Picture and information courtesy of great nephew, Barry Keefe
1127 Sapper
John Plunkett
3rd Coy. Australian Tunnelling Corps
30th April 1917.
Plot I. C. 22.
A miner from Landsborough, Victoria, Spr. Plunkett enlisted on 2 December 1915, age 33, and embarked aboard HMAT Ulysses (A38) from Sydney on 20 February 1916. Spr. Plunkett died from gas poisoning in France on 30 April, 1917.
His brother, 4277 Private James Plunkett, was reported missing and killed in action on 16 April 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
John Plunkett
3rd Coy. Australian Tunnelling Corps
30th April 1917.
Plot I. C. 22.
A miner from Landsborough, Victoria, Spr. Plunkett enlisted on 2 December 1915, age 33, and embarked aboard HMAT Ulysses (A38) from Sydney on 20 February 1916. Spr. Plunkett died from gas poisoning in France on 30 April, 1917.
His brother, 4277 Private James Plunkett, was reported missing and killed in action on 16 April 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
202272 Private
Thomas Martin Richardson
1st/5th Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment)
26th June 1917, aged 33.
Plot I. D. 22.
Son of Robert Henry and Alice Olivia Richardson, of 1, Blenheim Park Rd., South Croydon, Surrey.
His headstone bears the inscription: "In God's Eternal Glory Blest."
Thomas Martin Richardson
1st/5th Bn. Sherwood Foresters (Notts & Derby Regiment)
26th June 1917, aged 33.
Plot I. D. 22.
Son of Robert Henry and Alice Olivia Richardson, of 1, Blenheim Park Rd., South Croydon, Surrey.
His headstone bears the inscription: "In God's Eternal Glory Blest."
A column of Spahis on the Bethune road at Sains-en-Gohelle, 30 September 1915. © IWM (Q 79025)
Captain Macauley, R. A. M. C., in Bovril Alley, an old communication trench, very deep, camouflaged by flowers, etc., Built by the French, it ran from Bully-Grenay to the Angres Sector. 2nd R.N. Field Ambulance, R.N. Division, August 1916. © IWM (Q 14734)
