TERLINCTHUN BRITISH CEMETERY
Wimille
Pas De Calais
France
GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 50.74393, Longitude: 1.61023
Picture © Werner Van Caneghem
Location Information
Terlincthun British Cemetery is situated on the northern outskirts of Boulogne.
From Calais follow the A16 to Boulogne, come off at Junction 32 and follow the D96E for Wimereux Sud. Continue on this road for approximately 1 kilometre when the Cemetery will be found on the left hand side of the road. However, it should be noted that the entrance to the cemetery is in St Martin's Road, which is the road on the left immediately after the cemetery.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access to this site possible, but may be by an alternative entrance.
Historical Information
The first rest camps for Commonwealth forces were established near Terlincthun in August 1914 and during the whole of the First World War, Boulogne and Wimereux housed numerous hospitals and other medical establishments.
The cemetery at Terlincthun was begun in June 1918 when the space available for service burials in the civil cemeteries of Boulogne and Wimereux was exhausted. It was used chiefly for burials from the base hospitals, but Plot IV Row C contains the graves of 46 RAF personnel killed at Marquise in September 1918 in a bombing raid by German aircraft.
In July 1920, the cemetery contained more than 3,300 burials, but for many years Terlincthun remained an 'open' cemetery and graves continued to be brought into it from isolated sites and other burials grounds throughout France where maintenance could not be assured.
During the Second World War, there was heavy fighting in the area in 1940. Wimille was devastated when, from 22 - 25 May, the garrison at Boulogne fought a spirited delaying action covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. There was some fighting in Wimille again in 1944. The cemetery suffered considerable damage both from the shelling in 1940 and during the German occupation.
The cemetery now contains 4,379 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and more than 200 war graves of other nationalities, most of them German. Second World War burials number 149.
World War One Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 3,103, Canada 298, Germany 189, Australia 91, South Africa 42, New Zealand 31, Russia 4, U. S. A. 3, India 1, Poland 1. Total 3,673.
World War Two Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 98, Australia 14, India 4, South Africa 1. Total 117.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and George Esslemont Gordon Leith
Dedications
18345 Private Sidney Hawkins, 7th Bn. Bedfordshire Regiment, 17th September 1915, aged 28. Lived at Waters Cottage, East Common, Harpenden, Herts.
Remembered by great, great nice, Lisa Thompson
13386 Corporal Patrick Murphy, 48th Brigade, 9th Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 9th September 1916 aged 42. Husband of Mary Murphy, of 13, Dargan St., Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Remembered by Great Grand Daughter, Donna Waldron
Terlincthun British Cemetery is situated on the northern outskirts of Boulogne.
From Calais follow the A16 to Boulogne, come off at Junction 32 and follow the D96E for Wimereux Sud. Continue on this road for approximately 1 kilometre when the Cemetery will be found on the left hand side of the road. However, it should be noted that the entrance to the cemetery is in St Martin's Road, which is the road on the left immediately after the cemetery.
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access to this site possible, but may be by an alternative entrance.
Historical Information
The first rest camps for Commonwealth forces were established near Terlincthun in August 1914 and during the whole of the First World War, Boulogne and Wimereux housed numerous hospitals and other medical establishments.
The cemetery at Terlincthun was begun in June 1918 when the space available for service burials in the civil cemeteries of Boulogne and Wimereux was exhausted. It was used chiefly for burials from the base hospitals, but Plot IV Row C contains the graves of 46 RAF personnel killed at Marquise in September 1918 in a bombing raid by German aircraft.
In July 1920, the cemetery contained more than 3,300 burials, but for many years Terlincthun remained an 'open' cemetery and graves continued to be brought into it from isolated sites and other burials grounds throughout France where maintenance could not be assured.
During the Second World War, there was heavy fighting in the area in 1940. Wimille was devastated when, from 22 - 25 May, the garrison at Boulogne fought a spirited delaying action covering the withdrawal to Dunkirk. There was some fighting in Wimille again in 1944. The cemetery suffered considerable damage both from the shelling in 1940 and during the German occupation.
The cemetery now contains 4,379 Commonwealth burials of the First World War and more than 200 war graves of other nationalities, most of them German. Second World War burials number 149.
World War One Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 3,103, Canada 298, Germany 189, Australia 91, South Africa 42, New Zealand 31, Russia 4, U. S. A. 3, India 1, Poland 1. Total 3,673.
World War Two Identified Casualties: United Kingdom 98, Australia 14, India 4, South Africa 1. Total 117.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and George Esslemont Gordon Leith
Dedications
18345 Private Sidney Hawkins, 7th Bn. Bedfordshire Regiment, 17th September 1915, aged 28. Lived at Waters Cottage, East Common, Harpenden, Herts.
Remembered by great, great nice, Lisa Thompson
13386 Corporal Patrick Murphy, 48th Brigade, 9th Bn. Royal Dublin Fusiliers, 9th September 1916 aged 42. Husband of Mary Murphy, of 13, Dargan St., Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Remembered by Great Grand Daughter, Donna Waldron
Shot at Dawn
Second Lieutenant John H. Paterson, 3rd Bn. Essex Regiment, attached 1st Bn. Executed for murder, 24th September 1918. Plot IV. B. 48.
Second Lieutenant John H. Paterson, 3rd Bn. Essex Regiment, attached 1st Bn. Executed for murder, 24th September 1918. Plot IV. B. 48.
Picture © Geerhard Joos
He had been a trader in West Africa, who returned to England in Feb 1914. On 6 Apr 1915, Paterson enlisted & arrived in France on 17 Nov 1915. He was twice wounded on the Somme; & sent for officer training to England, where he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in June 1917.
Thereafter he served in France & latterly in Belgium at Zillebeke.
There, in the evening of 26 Mar 1918, Paterson was in charge of a working party, when he ordered the sergeant to wait with the men while he went off to look for his pocket-book, alleged to have been lost. Search was made for him that night in vain: he was not seen again till the evening of 3 July 1918.
Lance Corporal Stockton & Detective Sergeant Collison of the Military Foot Police saw Paterson on foot, accompanied by a French woman, at Pont Cologne near Calais. When accosted by them, he gave a false name, but soon after as the 4 walked along together, he admitted his true identity & asked to be allowed to take tea ‘with this young lady in that house over there’.
The police agreed, but kept watch. After almost 2 hours, Paterson emerged & spoke to Collison, who called Stockton over. There were then 2 shots from Paterson’s revolver. The first — heard as indistinct by a witness — seems to have been accidental, causing a wound to the thigh of Paterson as he went for the gun in his pocket while the second shot, directed at Collinson, killed him. Paterson’s French companion said that during the evening with him in her father’s house, Paterson had said: ‘If they do not leave, I will fire at them’; & that, after the shooting, Paterson had taken her away into hiding at an hotel in Calais. On 22 July Paterson was found & arrested at St Omer.
On 11 Sept 1918, he faced 7 charges: murder, desertion & 5 charges of forgery of cheques, to be tried at court martial by a panel of 5 officers, with a Brigadier-General presiding. Paterson was represented by a barrister Lieutenant.
The murder charge was tried first, & Paterson gave evidence. He explained that he wounded himself when putting his hand in his pocket for the gun; once pulled out, it went off accidentally, killing Collison. Paterson agreed that he had not intended to give himself up, but claimed that he had only sought to frighten off the policemen with his revolver.
After he was convicted of murder, he pleaded Guilty to desertion & to the forgeries. Sentence of death was confirmed by Haig on 20 Sept. Paterson was the only officer executed during the war for murder in the field. (Corns, pp.372-8, with photograph)
His victim is buried at Les Baraques Military Cemetery. Calais
Images in this gallery © Werner Van Caneghem
Doing their Bit - The Voluntary Aid Detachment
by Janine Lawrence
Over the centuries the history of our country has been littered with governmental mistakes and mishaps. How refreshing then, that in 1908 the new Secretary of State for War, Lord Haldane, undertook reforms in the army which were to have far-reaching effects.
He established a new part-time army of volunteers who were fully-trained soldiers in full-time jobs and who were organised on a county system. This Territorial Force became jokingly known as the 'Saturday Night Soldiers' as the young men who joined were taught to shoulder arms at weekly meetings and drills. They even attended summer camp and many 'Terriers' were at camp when war was declared in August 1914.
In 1909, with unbelievable foresight, the War Office issued a 'Scheme for the Organisation of Voluntary Aid in England and Wales' which recognised the need to provide sufficient medical backup to supplement the Territorial Force in the event of war. Ultimate efficiency would not be realised unless all voluntary aid was co-ordinated and the Territorial Associations were directed to entrust the work to the British Red Cross which had also adopted the county system of organisation. They joined up with the Order of St John of Jerusalem and thus, the organisation known as the Voluntary Aid Detachment was born.
Detachments were divided into those for men and those for women. Men's detachments numbered 56 lead by a commandant and comprising a medical officer, a quartermaster, a pharmacist and four section leaders each responsible for 12 men. They were usually responsible for transport and converting suitable buildings into hospitals and clearing stations and would also act as stretcher-bearers and male nurses if required. After enrolment the men studied first aid and were lectured in the various duties connected with transport and camps.
The women's detachments were less than half the strength of the men. They were also led by a commandant, who could either be male or female and not necessarily a doctor, a quartermaster, a trained nurse as a lady superintendent and 20 women of whom four had to be qualified cooks. It was felt the women's detachments would be better served to the 'less arduous' task of forming railway rest stations where they could prepare and serve meals for sick and wounded soldiers. It was obvious they were seen more as domestic assistants than nurses! However, they were given lectures in first aid, home nursing, hygiene and cookery and were occasionally given training in infirmaries. They were taught to identify suitable buildings for use as temporary hospitals and how to obtain equipment and supplies.
Within a year membership numbered somewhere around 6000 with over 2,500 detachments. These numbers increased considerably after the outbreak of war in 1914 and numbers rose to over 74,000, two-thirds of whom were women and girls.
As men were called away to answer their country's call it fell upon the women to fill their shoes in whatever way they could. Initially it was mostly middle-class women who were eager to 'do their bit' and they took on roles such as ambulance drivers, welfare officers, fundraisers, civil defence workers and even letter writers for the illiterate. It is interesting to note that the novelist, Agatha Christie was a VAD and worked in a hospital pharmacy where she learned about poisons!
The military authorities were reluctant at this early stage to accept VADs on the front line, perhaps thinking that the battlefield was no place for a woman. However, this restriction was lifted in 1915 and women volunteers over the age of twenty three and with more than three months experience were allowed to go to the Western Front, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Eventually VAD's were also sent to the Eastern Front.
Before the outbreak of war some VADs had taken short nursing courses for which they were awarded certificates. Qualified nurses had undertaken three years training and were understandably suspicious of these short courses, referring to the volunteers as 'ignorant amateurs'. Quarrels broke out and there are even reports of open conflict before the new spirit of unity in time of war was felt and working together for mutual benefit was the order of the day.
The VAD's became very active in the war effort using influence to transport themselves to the conflicts in France to care for the sick and wounded and thus carving out for themselves a clear role as nurses or orderlies in hospitals at home and in the theatres of war. By 1916 their numbers had increased to 80,000.
In 1917 clear regulations were laid down by the British Red Cross which governed the employment of nursing VAD's in military hospitals. Age limits were specified and volunteers should be between 21 and 48 years of age for home service and 23 and 42 for foreign. They were to be appointed for one month on probation during which time they were assessed for suitability by the matron. They then had to sign an agreement to serve for six months or the duration of the war, at home or abroad. Salary would be £20 per annum rising to £22.10.0 for those who signed on for another six months at the end of their current contract. Increments of a further £2.10.0 would be paid every six months until probationers reached the maximum of £30 per annum.
It was also laid down that VAD's should work under fully trained nurses with duties including sweeping, dusting, polishing, cleaning, washing patients' crockery, sorting linen and any nursing duties allotted by the matron.
Meanwhile, VAD hospitals were being set up in Blighty and were mostly located in large houses loaned for the purpose by their owners. Gustard Wood at Wheathampstead and The Bury at King's Walden are just two Hertfordshire premises used. The Council School in Royston and the former mental hospital, Napsbury in Colney Heath are examples of institutes put into service.
These hospitals received the sum of three shillings per day per patient from the War Office and were expected to raise additional funds themselves. As everyone was keen to be seen to help the war effort this was not difficult and local newspapers regularly featured lists of donations received - obviously anonymity did not seem to be the case!
Many women returning home after the conflict ended undertook formal nurse training and registration with the General Nursing Council. Others tried to pick up the threads of their former lives. What must be certain is that life could never have been the same for any of them again. The sight, smell and fear of war must have been imprinted on every mind bringing about a change in the lives of women which would grow and grow over the following years.
Our thanks to Janine Lawrence for permission to use this article
© Janine Lawrence
by Janine Lawrence
Over the centuries the history of our country has been littered with governmental mistakes and mishaps. How refreshing then, that in 1908 the new Secretary of State for War, Lord Haldane, undertook reforms in the army which were to have far-reaching effects.
He established a new part-time army of volunteers who were fully-trained soldiers in full-time jobs and who were organised on a county system. This Territorial Force became jokingly known as the 'Saturday Night Soldiers' as the young men who joined were taught to shoulder arms at weekly meetings and drills. They even attended summer camp and many 'Terriers' were at camp when war was declared in August 1914.
In 1909, with unbelievable foresight, the War Office issued a 'Scheme for the Organisation of Voluntary Aid in England and Wales' which recognised the need to provide sufficient medical backup to supplement the Territorial Force in the event of war. Ultimate efficiency would not be realised unless all voluntary aid was co-ordinated and the Territorial Associations were directed to entrust the work to the British Red Cross which had also adopted the county system of organisation. They joined up with the Order of St John of Jerusalem and thus, the organisation known as the Voluntary Aid Detachment was born.
Detachments were divided into those for men and those for women. Men's detachments numbered 56 lead by a commandant and comprising a medical officer, a quartermaster, a pharmacist and four section leaders each responsible for 12 men. They were usually responsible for transport and converting suitable buildings into hospitals and clearing stations and would also act as stretcher-bearers and male nurses if required. After enrolment the men studied first aid and were lectured in the various duties connected with transport and camps.
The women's detachments were less than half the strength of the men. They were also led by a commandant, who could either be male or female and not necessarily a doctor, a quartermaster, a trained nurse as a lady superintendent and 20 women of whom four had to be qualified cooks. It was felt the women's detachments would be better served to the 'less arduous' task of forming railway rest stations where they could prepare and serve meals for sick and wounded soldiers. It was obvious they were seen more as domestic assistants than nurses! However, they were given lectures in first aid, home nursing, hygiene and cookery and were occasionally given training in infirmaries. They were taught to identify suitable buildings for use as temporary hospitals and how to obtain equipment and supplies.
Within a year membership numbered somewhere around 6000 with over 2,500 detachments. These numbers increased considerably after the outbreak of war in 1914 and numbers rose to over 74,000, two-thirds of whom were women and girls.
As men were called away to answer their country's call it fell upon the women to fill their shoes in whatever way they could. Initially it was mostly middle-class women who were eager to 'do their bit' and they took on roles such as ambulance drivers, welfare officers, fundraisers, civil defence workers and even letter writers for the illiterate. It is interesting to note that the novelist, Agatha Christie was a VAD and worked in a hospital pharmacy where she learned about poisons!
The military authorities were reluctant at this early stage to accept VADs on the front line, perhaps thinking that the battlefield was no place for a woman. However, this restriction was lifted in 1915 and women volunteers over the age of twenty three and with more than three months experience were allowed to go to the Western Front, Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Eventually VAD's were also sent to the Eastern Front.
Before the outbreak of war some VADs had taken short nursing courses for which they were awarded certificates. Qualified nurses had undertaken three years training and were understandably suspicious of these short courses, referring to the volunteers as 'ignorant amateurs'. Quarrels broke out and there are even reports of open conflict before the new spirit of unity in time of war was felt and working together for mutual benefit was the order of the day.
The VAD's became very active in the war effort using influence to transport themselves to the conflicts in France to care for the sick and wounded and thus carving out for themselves a clear role as nurses or orderlies in hospitals at home and in the theatres of war. By 1916 their numbers had increased to 80,000.
In 1917 clear regulations were laid down by the British Red Cross which governed the employment of nursing VAD's in military hospitals. Age limits were specified and volunteers should be between 21 and 48 years of age for home service and 23 and 42 for foreign. They were to be appointed for one month on probation during which time they were assessed for suitability by the matron. They then had to sign an agreement to serve for six months or the duration of the war, at home or abroad. Salary would be £20 per annum rising to £22.10.0 for those who signed on for another six months at the end of their current contract. Increments of a further £2.10.0 would be paid every six months until probationers reached the maximum of £30 per annum.
It was also laid down that VAD's should work under fully trained nurses with duties including sweeping, dusting, polishing, cleaning, washing patients' crockery, sorting linen and any nursing duties allotted by the matron.
Meanwhile, VAD hospitals were being set up in Blighty and were mostly located in large houses loaned for the purpose by their owners. Gustard Wood at Wheathampstead and The Bury at King's Walden are just two Hertfordshire premises used. The Council School in Royston and the former mental hospital, Napsbury in Colney Heath are examples of institutes put into service.
These hospitals received the sum of three shillings per day per patient from the War Office and were expected to raise additional funds themselves. As everyone was keen to be seen to help the war effort this was not difficult and local newspapers regularly featured lists of donations received - obviously anonymity did not seem to be the case!
Many women returning home after the conflict ended undertook formal nurse training and registration with the General Nursing Council. Others tried to pick up the threads of their former lives. What must be certain is that life could never have been the same for any of them again. The sight, smell and fear of war must have been imprinted on every mind bringing about a change in the lives of women which would grow and grow over the following years.
Our thanks to Janine Lawrence for permission to use this article
© Janine Lawrence
Interior of Ambulance Train at Boulogne
© IWM (Q 14760)
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Canadian V.A.D, staff of the Canadian Rest House for nursing sisters passing through Boulogne. 29 July 1918.
© IWM (Q 9140)
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