Where can I pay my respects to my First World War soldier relative?
QMy great uncle, Lance Corporal James Dwyer, served in the 9th battalion, Royal Fusilliers ( London). He was killed on 30 November 1917. He is remembered on the Cambrai Memorial. I have struggled to make sense of the many brigades and divisions and the transferring of units in the fast- changing situation. Is it possible to pin-point his final position and stand on the spot he died 100 years later? Margaret Hall, by email
AWorking out the relationships between units can be confusing, but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website and James’ Medal Roll both confirm he was killed in 9th Royal Fusiliers on 11 November 1917. Using The Long Long Trail website ( www.
longlongtrail.co.uk) and its army section, it’s possible to find which larger units an infantry battalion was serving under on a given date; 9th Royal Fusiliers were in 36th Brigade, part of 12th Division.
The History of the 12th (Eastern) Division
in the Great War, reprinted by Naval and Military Press, says on 30 November the Division was holding trenches near Gonnelieu, south-east of Cambrai. A surprise German attack drove the 9th RF back in places, but D Company “holding three strong points covering Bleak House… were surrounded… these posts fell during the evening, only one man, who was afterwards killed, escaping”. The battalion war diary (available on Ancestry or purchaseable digitally from The National Archives (TNA) website) gives slightly different figures, but confirms most of D Company were killed. James is most likely one of these, but certainly fell close to Gonnelieu. Almost all the day’s casualties are commemorated on the Cambrai Memorial.
Using contemporary maps and today’s French map (IGN Carte Topographique Serie Bleue 2507E) I calculate the Bleak House position now lies under the A26 motorway junction with the D917. There are small roads and paths in the vicinity if you want to find a place to lay a cross or wreath near where he probably fell.
An easier and more appropriate option might be the CWGC’s Fifteen Ravine Cemetery at Villers-Plouich nearby. It contains three graves of men from 9th Royal Fusiliers, as well as 740 graves of men whose recovered bodies couldn’t be identified; James may be one of these. There’s a map showing the location on CWGC website.