Ration Farm Military Cemetery, la Chapelle-D'Armentieres

Cemetery Details

Location Avenue du President Kennedy (D222), La Chapelle-d'Armentieres, Nord - Hauts-de-France, France
Co‑ordinates N50.65737, E2.88829
Description

Location Information
Ration Farm Military Cemetery is about 2.5 kms south of the village of La Chapelle-d'Armentieres, on the south-eastern outskirts of Armentieres. Leave La Chapelle-d'Armentieres on the Fleurbaix road and cross over the Motorway bridge. The Cemetery is 500 metres further along on the right hand side of the road.

History Information
For much of the war, Ration Farm was just over 1 kilometre behind the front line at the end of a communication trench. The first cemetery, Ration Farm Old Military Cemetery, was begun in February 1915, close beside the farm buildings. It was used until October 1915 chiefly by units of the 6th Division and at the Armistice it contained 73 graves. In April 1923, these graves were moved into Plot VI of the present cemetery, at the request of the French authorities.

The present cemetery was begun (as Ration Farm New Military Cemetery) in October 1915 and remained in use until October 1918. It was very greatly increased after the Armistice when graves were brought in from isolated sites and small cemeteries on the battlefield, including:-

  • CHAPEL FARM CEMETERY, FLEURBAIX, which was 2 kms West of Bois Grenier. It contained 11 British graves of 1915 and 1916.
  • FERME-DU-BIEZ MILITARY CEMETERY, La Chapelle D'Armentieres, which was 2 kms South East of that village. It contained 36 British graves of 1915 and 1918.

For the most part, Plots I to V contain the original burials. Among the isolated graves brought in were many of Australian soldiers who died in the Attack at Fromelles on 19 July 1916. There are now 1,313 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 677 of the burials are unidentified, but there are special memorials to six casualties know or believed to be buried among them. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

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Names

Showing 8 people of interest from cemetery

HEARD, Roy Frederick

Service number 4805
Private
54th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1898

HOLZBERGER, Herman William

Service number 114
Private
32nd Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 19 Aug 1892

BROUGH, Norman John

Service number 51
Private
32nd Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1891

LEPP, Albert Edward

Service number 4539
Private
58th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1892

BELL, Sydney

Service number 3760
Private
55th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born Jun 1892

MAYO, Gilbert Joseph

Service number 2212
Private
59th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1894

RILEY, Earl

Service number 2462
Sapper
Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company
AIF WW1
Born Sep 1894

WILSON, Bernard Francis

Service number 3644
Private
59th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 6 Feb 1879

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