Warlencourt British Cemetery

Cemetery Details

Location Warlencourt-Eaucourt, Pas-de-Calais - Hauts-de-France, France
Co‑ordinates N50.08079, E2.799
Description

Location Information
Warlencourt British Cemetery lies on the east side of the D929, to the south-east of Warlencourt village and 5 kilometres south-west of Bapaume. CWGC signposts on the D929 give advance warning of arrival at the Cemetery.

History Information
This cemetery covers an area of 10,300 square metres and is enclosed by a low brick wall on the road front, and on the other three sides by a concrete curb.

Warlencourt, the Butte de Warlencourt and Eaucourt-L'Abbaye were the scene of very fierce fighting in 1916. Eaucourt was taken by the 47th (London) Division early in October. The Butte (a Roman mound of excavated chalk, about 17 metres high, once covered with pines) was attacked by that and other divisions, but it was not relinquished by the Germans until the following 26 February, when they withdrew to the Hindenburg Line. The 51st (Highland) Division fought a delaying action here on 25 March 1918 during the great German advance, and the 42nd (East Lancashire) Division recaptured the ground on 25 August 1918.  

The cemetery was made late in 1919, by concentrations from the battlefields of Warlencourt and Le Sars.

There are now 3,505, 1914-18 Commonwealth war casualties commemorated in this site, 1,823 of these are unidentified.
'Special memorials' are erected to 44 soldiers from the United Kingdom, 9 from Australia, and 2 from South Africa, known or believed to be buried among them.

Moved into this cemetery was:- Hexham Road Cemetery, Le Sars, on the West side of the Abbey grounds. (Hexham Road was the name given to the road leading from Warlencourt to Eaucourt. Le Sars was captured by the 23rd Division on the 7th October 1916, and again by the Third Army on the 25th August 1918.) Hexham Road Cemetery was used from November 1916 to October 1917.

Thank you to Alan Kitchen for the main photo.

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.  24/3/2015.  Lest we forget.

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Names

Showing 8 people of interest from cemetery

CLARK, Harold Ernest

Service number 17723
Private
Army Medical Corps (AIF)
AIF WW1
Born 29 Jan 1884

DORMAN, Arthur Edward

Service number 570
Bombardier
1st Field Artillery Brigade
AIF WW1
Born 9 Mar 1888

WILLIAMS, David Newland

Service number 5449
Private
10th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 19 Dec 1894

FOGARTY, Sidney John

Service number 2625
Private
2nd Pioneer Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 2 Apr 1896

MCGREGOR, Reginald Francis

Service number 4056
Lance Corporal
3rd Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 3 Dec 1896

MCMURTRIE, John James

Service number 5385
Private
17th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1895

EVERETT, Herbert William

Service number 4406
Private
20th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1

HANKS, Vivian Charles

Service number 3134
Private
27th Infantry Battalion
AIF WW1
Born 1 Jul 1894