GOMMECOURT BRITISH CEMETERY NO. 2
Hébuterne
Pas De Calais
France
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 50.12991, Longitude: 2.65008
Location Information
Gommecourt is a village 19 kilometres south-west of Arras. The Cemetery lies just off the road (D6) between Gommecourt and Puisieux. A CWGC signpost indicating the directions to the site is situated at the junction 2 kilometres along this road. Access can also be made from the village of Hebuterne where a CWGC signpost indicates the way from the main square.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access to this cemetery is possible with some difficulty.
Historical Information
Hebuterne village remained in Allied hands from March 1915 to the Armistice, although during the German advances of the summer of 1918, it was practically on the front line. Gommecourt and Gommecourt Wood were attacked by the 56th (London) and 46th (North Midland) Divisions on 1 July 1916 with only temporary success, but the village was occupied by the 31st and 46th Divisions on the night of 27-28 February 1917, remaining in Allied hands until the Armistice. Gommecourt was later "adopted" by the County Borough of Wolverhampton.
Gommecourt British Cemeteries No.1, No.2, No.3 and No.4 were made in 1917 when the battlefields were cleared. No.2 originally contained 101 graves of 1 July 1916, almost all of the 56th Division, which form Plot I of the cemetery as it is today. After the Armistice, graves from the neighbouring battlefields were added, plus the following:-
GOMMECOURT BRITISH CEMETERY No.1 was 100 metres North-West of No.2. It contained the graves of 107 soldiers from the United Kingdom, mainly of the 56th Division, who fell on the 1st July, 1916.
GOMMECOURT BRITISH CEMETERY No.3 was at the South-West corner of the village. It contained the graves of 117 soldiers from the United Kingdom, mainly of the 56th Division, who fell on the 1st July, and the 12th November, 1916.
GOMMECOURT BRITISH CEMETERY No.4 was 50 metres South of No.1. It contained the graves of 70 soldiers from the United Kingdom, largely of the 56th Division, who fell on the 1st July and the 12th November, 1916, and at the end of February, 1917.
Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 now contains 1,356 First World War burials and commemorations. 681 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 33 casualties known or believed to be buried among them.
Total Burials: 1,356.
Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 613, New Zealand 37, Australia 25. Total 675.
Unidentified Casualties: United Kingdom 668, New Zealand 9, Australia 1, Unknown 3. Total 681.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and Noel Ackroyd Rew
325065 Private
William Arthur Armstrong
1st/9th Bn. Durham Light Infantry
28th March 1918, aged 24.
Special Memorial 3.
Son of Peter and Rebecca Armstrong, of 11, Trent St., Chopwell, Co. Durham.
His headstone bears the inscription "Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out"
551763 Rifleman
Norman Bonser
16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
1st July 1916.
Plot I. A. 2.
Norman Bonser
16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
1st July 1916.
Plot I. A. 2.
230821 Corporal
Richard Leslie Brewer
(2795). 2nd Bn. London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)
Posted to 16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Plot I. A. 3.
Richard Leslie Brewer
(2795). 2nd Bn. London Regiment (Royal Fusiliers)
Posted to 16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Plot I. A. 3.
Lieutenant
John Cecil Brown-Constable
14th Bn. London Regiment (London Scottish)
1st July 1916, aged 26.
Plot II. G. 26.
Son of the Rev. Albert Edward and Clara Emily Brown Constable, of "Greet," Mottingham, London.
John Cecil Brown-Constable
14th Bn. London Regiment (London Scottish)
1st July 1916, aged 26.
Plot II. G. 26.
Son of the Rev. Albert Edward and Clara Emily Brown Constable, of "Greet," Mottingham, London.
3969 Rifleman
Harold Cornell Candler
1st/9th Bn. London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Plot II. K. 15.
Son of Emma Webster Greeves (formerly Candler), of 24, St. Margaret's Mansions, Lillie Rd., Fulham, London.
Harold Cornell Candler
1st/9th Bn. London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Plot II. K. 15.
Son of Emma Webster Greeves (formerly Candler), of 24, St. Margaret's Mansions, Lillie Rd., Fulham, London.
Lieutenant
Lionel Clegg
7th Bn. Tank Corps.
22nd August 1918, aged 20.
Plot V. G. 15.
(CWGC shows his age incorrectly as 21)
Son of Mr. and Mrs. S. Clegg, of London; husband of Doris Clegg, of 258, Ivydale Rd., Nunhead, London.
His headstone bears the inscription "In Loving Memory Of My Dearly Beloved Husband"
killed early in the morning of Aug 22 1918. Although his grave stone says he was 21 he was actually 20. He was killed in Bucquoy, having spent the night with three tanks on the road to Achiet le Petit. They were a little too close to German lines and were called back that morning. They returned under sporadic shelling and as he helped his men cover the tank with corrugated iron as camouflage, a shell landed at his feet and killed him instantly.
He was from Peckham London, and had married two months earlier. He had also fought in Cambrai.
Lionel was originally buried in a single grave in Bucquoy, but was re-interred in Gommecourt No.2 cemetery in 1920.
The above photograph of him would have been around late 1916 or 1917, but early days for him in the Tank Corps as his badge is still that of the Heavy Machine Gun Corps.
Pictures above (L-R) Lt. Clegg's grave at Gommecourt, Lt. Clegg portrait and Lionel with a group of fellow officers from the H. M. G. C.
Pictures courtesy of great nephew Neil Berrett
47619 Private
Edward Gildea
2nd/4th Bn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
29th March 1918.
Plot III. H. 16.
Edward Gildea
2nd/4th Bn. King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
29th March 1918.
Plot III. H. 16.
Images in gallery below © Geerhard Joos
551782 Rifleman
Stanley Frank Hayes
16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 25.
Plot II. A. 24.
Son of Lindsay and Jane Hayes, of 42, Aubert Park, Highbury, London.
His headstone bears the inscription: "In Our Memories Ever Dear."
Stanley Frank Hayes
16th Bn. London Regiment (Queen's Westminster Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 25.
Plot II. A. 24.
Son of Lindsay and Jane Hayes, of 42, Aubert Park, Highbury, London.
His headstone bears the inscription: "In Our Memories Ever Dear."
Captain
Richard Lennard Hoare
12th Bn. London Regiment (The Rangers)
1st July 1916, aged 33.
Plot I. C. 1.
Son of Laura Hoare, of Summerhill, Benenden, Cranbrook, Kent, and the late William Hoare. Born at Staplehurst, Kent.
His headstone bears the inscription; "And The Leaves Of The Tree Were For The Healing Of The Nations " Rev.Xxii.2."
Richard Lennard Hoare
12th Bn. London Regiment (The Rangers)
1st July 1916, aged 33.
Plot I. C. 1.
Son of Laura Hoare, of Summerhill, Benenden, Cranbrook, Kent, and the late William Hoare. Born at Staplehurst, Kent.
His headstone bears the inscription; "And The Leaves Of The Tree Were For The Healing Of The Nations " Rev.Xxii.2."
391102 Rifleman
Clifford Riley
9th Bn. London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 30.
Plot III. J. 20.
Son of William Henry and Alice Riley, of 1, Lark St., Burnley.
Clifford Riley
9th Bn. London Regiment (Queen Victoria's Rifles)
1st July 1916, aged 30.
Plot III. J. 20.
Son of William Henry and Alice Riley, of 1, Lark St., Burnley.
471117 Rifleman
Gordon Wilfred Steer
(3687). 12th Bn. London Regiment (The Rangers)
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Plot I. B. 18.
Son of George and Lydia Steer, of 40, Staverton Rd., Brondesbury Park, London. Born at Willesden.
His headstone bears the inscription: "Be My Last Thought How Sweet To Rest For Ever On On My Saviour's Breast."
Gordon Wilfred Steer
(3687). 12th Bn. London Regiment (The Rangers)
1st July 1916, aged 21.
Plot I. B. 18.
Son of George and Lydia Steer, of 40, Staverton Rd., Brondesbury Park, London. Born at Willesden.
His headstone bears the inscription: "Be My Last Thought How Sweet To Rest For Ever On On My Saviour's Breast."
7455 Private
Donald Alexander Teasdale
14th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
30th March 1918, aged 24.
Plot II. C. 25.
Inscription "For God, King And Loved Ones In Memory's Heart He Will Ever Live"
Click on image to enlarge
Son of John W. and Catherine Teasdale. Born at Lallat Plains, Rupanyup, Victoria, Australia.
Studio portrait of 5228 Acting Corporal (A/Cpl) Donald Alexander Teasdale. A theological student from Sea Lake, Victoria prior to enlistment, A/Cpl Teasdale embarked with the 16th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Anchises on 14 March 1916. He later served as Acting Lance Corporal with the Imperial Camel Corps in Egypt and Palestine before accidently shooting himself in the foot. He returned to Australia on 8 March 1917 for medical discharged. He later e-enlisted and re-embarked for overseas service with the rank of Private and with the service no 7455 with the 25th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Nestor on 21 November 1917. On 30 March 1918, aged 24, he was killed in action and was buried in the Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2, Arras, France.
Donald Alexander Teasdale
14th Bn. Australian Infantry, A. I. F.
30th March 1918, aged 24.
Plot II. C. 25.
Inscription "For God, King And Loved Ones In Memory's Heart He Will Ever Live"
Click on image to enlarge
Son of John W. and Catherine Teasdale. Born at Lallat Plains, Rupanyup, Victoria, Australia.
Studio portrait of 5228 Acting Corporal (A/Cpl) Donald Alexander Teasdale. A theological student from Sea Lake, Victoria prior to enlistment, A/Cpl Teasdale embarked with the 16th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Anchises on 14 March 1916. He later served as Acting Lance Corporal with the Imperial Camel Corps in Egypt and Palestine before accidently shooting himself in the foot. He returned to Australia on 8 March 1917 for medical discharged. He later e-enlisted and re-embarked for overseas service with the rank of Private and with the service no 7455 with the 25th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion from Melbourne on HMAT Nestor on 21 November 1917. On 30 March 1918, aged 24, he was killed in action and was buried in the Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2, Arras, France.
British 9.45-inch Heavy Trench Mortar and its crew in an old German trench in Pigeon Wood. It is snowing, and one of the men has placed a cover over the end of the barrel to protect it from the weather. Gommecourt, March 1917. © IWM (Q 4922)
British soldiers house-breaking in the ruins of Gommecourt. The bricks are used for making roads, March 1917. © IWM (Q 4924)
The graves of three officers and some men of the 14th Australian Battalion, who fell near Nameless Trench (ran between Hebuterne & Gommecourt), when resisting the German advance, on 26 March 1918. Left to right: Second Lieutenant V. E. Hall, Killed in Action (KIA) 30 March 1918; 7332 Private (Pte) Edward Cuthbert Ernest Williams, KIA 30 May 1918; 7455 Pte Donald Alexander Teasdale, KIA 30 March 1918. Beside them were English graves, eight Londoners 1 July 1916 and W.Yorks 2 March 1917, and those of unknown German soldiers, of a much earlier date, are also scattered in this area.
All three named Australians are now buried in Gommecourt British Cemetery, No. 2.
