When I started to research the names of the 3rd Battalion soldiers listed as missing in France it it became evident that there was a strong connection between 63 of them. The list of these names are included at the end of this post. Throughout the course of reviewing each of these soldiers service records there was one strange paragraph of writing that kept poping up ….. “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood (57c)”. This mysterious red writing typically appeared, hand written, at the end of the typed ‘Casulty Form – Active Service’ Form (Army Form B. 103).
So, this discovery raised a few questions: 1) who had written this in their service records?; 2) why was it written in Red pen and not typed as per the rest of the entries on the form?; and 3) were is this place Maricourt Wood? I have to make a admission at this point that when I originally read this writting, and with my eyesight being less that perfect, I actually thought the place name was ‘Mericourt Wood’ not ‘Maricourt Wood’….how embarrassing.
Anyway, I really thought I was onto something here, so I started to reasearch Maricourt Wood first to see what I could turn up. Interestingly, during this search I came apon (again) the research conducted by Margaret Johnston, and her family, in relation to 1175 SMYTHE, Herbert (‘Bert’) Andrew who along with many others was killed in May 1917. Margaret had also discovered (previously) in Bert’s service record this mysterious red writing and set out to find out what she could about it and Bert’s final resting place. It is important to note here that Margaret’s research identified a total of 62 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, which ties almost perfectly with my 63. I think 2149 McGRATH, Henry Thomas John is the odd man out here because his service record does not explicitly state “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood (57c)”, however in Red Cross records he is noted as having been killed alongside GODSON, ACKROYD, SINCLAIR & BEAN (see list below). These four men do have the red writing in their service records.
Margaret’s research had first identified Maricourt Wood as being outside of the town of Maricourt (as had my research) and any normal person would say well that’s definitive enough. However, whilst Maricourt and the neighbouring wood were in the vicinity of some of the battles fought by the battalion, this location did not fit with the hand written note in the service record. You will note the ’57c’ reference from the writting which relates to the Pas de Calais region of France, and after some considerable study I discovered (as had Margaret) that there was another Maricourt Wood located to the East of Vaulx-Vraucourt.
It is important to highlight at this stage that Margaret has previously conducted quite a considerable amout of research on this location and unfortunatly suffered significant issues when asking the Army History Unit and Australian War Memorial researchers for assistance in researching this location. Anyway, one thing that I realised about Margaret’s research was that it appears that she had not reviewed any aerial photos of the region from that time period – and I would be suprised if there weren’t any available – so I set about trying to track some down.
The McMaster University WW1 Maps & Air Photos Website was revisited in the hope that some photos may be available. It’s important to point out at this stage that the specific area’s of investigation with in the 57c map area were NW.2 and NW.4. Unfortunatly, the website had only a limited number of (oblique) photos and the vast majority were from 1918 and the wrong regions within 57c. The online collections the Australian War Memorial (AWM), National Archives of Australia (NAA), National Archives (NAUK) and Imperial War Museum (IWM) were also checked without success.
With this course of investigation stagnating, attention was then turned to the Battalion war diary for the 3rd Battalion to try and locate any mention of Maricourt Wood. The diary contained two disposition maps covering the period 29 April 1917 through 9 May 1917. Margaret had also reviewed these maps and in her research included a cropped version of the first image showing only the bottom half.
The Battalion was originally billeted in Vaulx-Vraucourt on 29 April 1917 and also occupied posts located to the North-West of town, between Vraucourt Wood and Maricourt Wood. The Battalion then quickly advanced to Noruil on 03 May 1917 and then further north towards Bullecourt on the same day. Between the 4-5 May 1917 the Battalion advanced to positions North-West of Bullecourt in and around OG1 & OG2 as a part of the offensive on the Hindenburg Line. During this time period the Battalion was subject to heavy Artillery bombardment by both friendly and enemy batteries and many soldiers were killed or wounded.
The Battalion then began to withdraw back to positions and posts, originally occupied on in April, through until 09 May 1917 when relieved by the 29th Battalion. It is important to point out that most of names listed as being “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood (57c)” were suffered during this phase between 4-9th May 1917.
In Lieut. Colonel Moore’s ‘Report on Operations 29.4.17 to 9.5.17’ it is stated in the ‘Co-Operation of Artillery & Infantry’ section that:
“On 4th. our “S.O.S.” signals were not answered. A forward observation Officer was stationed at my Battalion Headquarters. This Officer was of great assistance. Communication was only possible by H.P. Buzzer. Our “S.O.S.” barrage was very effective, and excepting case mentioned above, rapidly opened when called for. HEAVIES, 4.5″ Howitzers, and 18 pounders at different times dropped short in and behind our trench; on one occasion our Field Artillery placed a barrage on my line. Many 18 pounder shell cases and pieces of our heavy shells picked up in our trench. A number of casualties were traced to our own shells. One shell burst in our trench and killed four men.”
This report may help to explain why there were a large number of 3rd Battalion casualties during this period or withdrawal, but unfortunately does not help definitively locate their burial location. It is also unfortunate that the 3rd Battalion history book does provide any insight as to the losses suffered during this withdrawal.
I also decided to also double check the war diaries of the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Australian Field Ambulance for May 1917, as they formed part of the 1st Division in France during the war, because if soldiers of the 3rd Battalion were “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood (57c)” during this time period then it is likely that others of other Battalions might have been as well and were probably carried by stretcher-bearers from these units.
Unfortunately, the 1st & 2nd Australian Field Ambulance diaries did not yield any specific information about burials, other than the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance noting that during Bullecourt their ranks were depleted by nearly 30%, which may explain difficulties experienced in initially repatriating soldiers remains during the withdrawal as the focus would most likely have been on the wounded.
However, in the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance diary there was hand drawn a map showing the locations of the dressing and casualty clearing stations in relation to Vaulx-Vraucourt and Noruil, which are within the area that the 3rd Battalion would have been withdrawing. The map however appears to have been drawn not by a cartographer as the positioning of Vaulx-Vraucourt and Noruil in realtion to each other and the stations does not appear to coincide with maps from the 3rd Battalion war diary (above). This initially made its interpretation very difficult.
The most notable feature on this map is what appears to be a railway line which runs in a horse-shoe shape around the edge of Vaulx-Vraucourt heading back to the south-west towards Bapaume. What’s interesting about that you say? Well you will note that this railway line does not appear on the map from the 3rd Battalion war diary above and also appears to have two “way-points” or loading areas (marked as squares with dotten lines leading back to Vaulx-Vraucourt).
The first square appears to mention the loading of wounded at this point, it is likely that if wounded soldiers had succumb to their wounds after having already passed through the aid posts and casualty clearing & dressing stations – on their way to Vaulx-Vraucourt – then they would have probably been buried right there and then. However, this theory does not support the location being recorded as “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood (57c)”.
The use of Maricourt Wood as a location reference could be explained if Vaulx Wood ceased to exist due to artillery bombardments or the felling of trees for lumber. In the Google Earth image above, the locations of both woods have been marked along with an approximation of the path of the railway line. Also marked are the two loading areas, which to my mind would have been most likely situated near to roads leading to Vaulx-Vraucourt. The location of these areas and the railway line are quite plausible for two reasons: 1) the line has been constructed in such a way as to circumvent the town itself – avoiding damage from artillery – whilst still being within easy distance to facilitate movement of troops and supplies; and 2) to prevent running the line through the allied defences which stretched from the top of Maricourt Wood through to the North West of Vaulx Wood (see disposition map above).
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this railroad was constructed by Australian forces so attempting to trace additional maps of it’s absolute location was going to prove a challenge. I reviewed the May 1917 war diaries of the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 9th & 28th Battalions as well as the 1st Brigade, 7th Australian Field Ambulance and 7th Field Company, Australian Engineers in the hopes of locating additional maps to confirm the location of the railway, without success. There were numerous other Australian units involved in the Bullecourt battles, however trying to compile a definitive list was quite difficult and I felt there was little value in doing so at this stage.
Of course there is also another theory. It is possible that the remains of these 63 soldiers were in fact buried in many different locations during Bullecourt and at a later stage re interred near Maricourt Wood. Some of the red cross files of these soldiers list the follwing as their last known burial location:
5656 BRAGG: Red Cross File states buried by the Padre of the 12th Battalion. This is confirmed by DOUGLAS, W.K. who also states burying “several” other soldiers in the location stated as “Railway Embankment, Bullecourt (57C N.W. CS central)”.
711 CROCOMBE: Red Cross File states buried behind the front line trench about 700 yards from the outskirts of the village. Also states buried 50 yrds from Battn HQ along with another man.
3752 EARP: Red Cross file states buried by 5th Battalion soldiers between last line and supports [most likely between Bullecourt and Noruil].
5141 MAHONEY: Red Cross file states buried on the side of Sunken Road [Bullecourt].
6105 STAMMERS: Red Cross file states lots of men were buried in the Cemetery at Noreuil.
6428 TAYLOR: Red Cross file states burial location as OG2 just in front of Queant.
There is also some of these soldiers listed as having been killed alongside one or more others on the list. However, all of this still does not help us determine definitively their final resting place.
As a next step I will be ordering Graves Registration files from the Australian War Memorial in a hope that perhaps some answers might be found. The results of this search will be revealed in a subsequent blog entry.
The names of the 63 soldiers of the 3rd Battalion listed as “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood (57c)” are:
6157 ACKROYD, George Charles
2555A ALFORD, Edgar Stephenson
244 ANSCHAU, Gilbert Goldie
6418 BARLOW, Albert Edwin
517 BARROW, John William
6459 BEAN, John Selwyn
3694 BECKHAUS, John Roy
5656 BRAGG, William George
3711 BUDD, William Arthur J
6233 BUDGE, James
5659 BUTTEL, William Robert
1510 BUTTERWORTH, Robert Charles
1516 CHALK, William
6488 CRILLY, James
711 CROCOMBE, Walter Cecil Gould
2614 DAVIDSON, George Rae
4594 DEVINE, Thomas
2967 DUNBAR, George
3752 EARP, Frederick Clarence
6502 FIELDER, Alfred Leopold
729 GODART, Thomas B
2654 GODSON, John Harold
2148 GRAHAM, William George
2130 HARLEY, James John
3090 HARRIS, Stanley Harold
734 HEATHCOTE, Albert Wallace
6516 HODGE, James Barclay
5684 HOWARD, Francis R. Rathbone
6294 JONES, Tom
6300 KENNAUGH, Frederick Joseph
6857 LAING, William
3821 LARDEAUX, Stanley Edward
1295, LOCKYER, Thomas James
6424 LONERGAN, Stephen
6540 MACDONALD, Robert Giliam
5141 MAHONEY, Cecil Denis
6070 McDONNELL, Frank Vincent
2149 McGRATH, Henry Thomas John
6311 MOORE, Thomas
3137 MUIR, Robert Joseph
6551 NIXON, William Fletcher
931 O’DELL, John Frederick
6554 OSBORNE, Joseph
5731 RICHARDS, Charlie
6342 RICHARDS, Henry Mitchell
6086 ROWELL, Thomas
3223 SEALE, Spencer Stanley
2677 SHEPHERD, Percy William
1082 SIMPSON, Willoughby
4299 SINCLAIR, Norval Robert James
6357 SKELTON, Walter
5445 SMITH, Reginald Charles
1175 SMYTHE, Herbert Andrew
1087 SOLTAU, Herman Henry Frank
6105 STAMMERS, Ernest Ward
5229 STEVENS, Alexander
5742 SWAIN, John Walton
6428 TAYLOR, Perclval
5745 TRAVERS, Ambrose Leslie George
3930 WALSH, Vivian Henry
2490 WATSON, Robert
6597 WILSON, John
195 YORKE, John
Lest We Forget….
3rd Battalion AIF - Revisiting 'Randwick to Hargicourt' 
January 10, 2012 at 6:54 pm
On william Fletcher Nixon’s records it say’s.
Burial particulars and photo of grave 4/?/18 and also something above this.
Page 11 of his records
January 11, 2012 at 9:41 am
Hi Brian
WOW!! Well spotted 🙂
I’ve had a bit of a bash at the first line but It is proving very difficult to decipher:
‘Burial _____ _____ file – ___ ___ for ___ ____ (intial).’
and I think the second line is:
‘Burial particulars and photograph of grave 4/4/18 (initial).’
When I get the Graves Registration files from the AWM I’ll see if there is anything in there that might shed some light on this. I might even ask the NAA to rescan the page from his service record so that the last column is a bit more readable.
January 28, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Hi Justin
I have just found some info on Red Cross files being found in their head office in Geneva. They were found by a Mr Barton a first WW historian, he had somthing to do with “Pheasant Wood”
January 28, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Hi Brian, thanks for the heads up. This really was an amazing find. It seems that they may this available sometime in 2014 so i`ll just to wait and try and access them then 🙂 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1161810/Unknown-longer-thousands-WW1-dead-identified.html
January 28, 2012 at 6:27 pm
Hi again Justin.
The last part of the top line is, photo for next of kin.
Brian
January 29, 2012 at 10:08 am
Hi Brian
Okay, that’s super weird…… is that saying there is photo that was taken, or asking someone to take a photo?!?
Do you know if it was the British War Graves units that would have been taking photos during 1918? I’ve seen lots references to photos being taken for relatives, but surely there must be glass plate negatives (if they used those) somewhere that documents these burials?
January 31, 2012 at 6:33 pm
Hi Justin.
A photo was taken for next of kin I am trying to find it. I think the date is 4/11/18 not 4/4/18. I would have thought they would have been to busy before the war ended to take photo’s. I also can’t see the “c” in 57c. the squigle at the top is the bottom of Y in vicinity like the bottom of the f in of. Hope you understand
Brian
February 4, 2012 at 2:14 pm
Hi Justin,
I have been looking at McMaster Uni maps for 57c. On the ones for 1918/06 and 1918/08 Bapaume there are a number of Red X at the top of Maricourt Wood. With this area now in German hands could these be GRAVES. There is no mention of red X’s in the index. Have a look and see what you think.
Brain
February 9, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Hi Justin,
My immediate thought was that your mystery scribe was Staff Sgt Oscar Henry Paul. Alas, it is not have been. Paul’s handwriting is not that man.
I have seen this writing on many of the thousands of 3rd Battalion files. I suggest your man was probably left handed.
February 9, 2012 at 10:10 pm
Hi Phil, thanks for the heads up 🙂 what other sorts of messages have you seen other service records? Do you think the AWM might have info about who made these notes?
February 9, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Justin,
I’ve seen lots on the NAA / AWM websites, most I just quickly scan over. There are many good stories in the third battalion, including stuff that has been published in various places and stuff that hasn’t. I have also read most of the diaries at the AWM.
You should take Graeme Hosken’s advice and join FFFAIF. There are a number of 3rd Bn articles in Digger, you should take a look.
It looks as if you have seen the Smythe family website, it is a pity Percy was transferred before your study period (I am assuming you are interested in Bullecourt onwards).
I am most interested in an earlier period of the Battalion’s history, specifically from February 1916 to March 1917 and have at least looked at all of the Service Records from that period. Having said that, I am not disinterested in any of the blokes in the unit. I just went through your list of blokes from Passchendale and most of the Coy/Platoon numbers tally with what I have. Some of those SRs I have not looked at as the soldiers were taken on strength after my research period.
To answer your question, the AWM staff are a dedicated bunch, but they almost certainly have no idea on the identity of any of the clerks. The only advice I can offer is to try to determine who were clerks and look at their handwriting on the enlistment forms. That is an incredible amount of research to undertake. I did search my file for others that I had identified as orderlies or clerks. Unfortunately I could not find his writing. It is quite distinctive and you could look through the first pages of all the men on strength during that period. He was obviously a south-paw from the backward slant of his handwriting. The other problem, of course, is that the scribe may be a 1st Brigade or 1st Division HQ man.
It is good to see eomeone else as interested in the chocolate and greens as I am!
Phil
February 11, 2012 at 10:09 am
Hi Phil
I have put in my application for membership to FFFAIF back in November (Matt Smith from AWGPA seconded my application) but I have not heard back yet about it 😦 Mat also mentioned that I might be able to talk with Ray Black and Maurice Campbell on their research of the 3rd Battalion as well.
I will take your advice about looking at the enlistment forms (I probably would never have through of that). Another question that comes up though, surely there weren’t many people using red pen (not ink or pencil) back in those days. This seems to me to be a fairly rare thing for the time….unless I’m way off in my thinking.
Cheers
Justin
February 9, 2012 at 10:09 pm
If it helps these are the 3Bn men who died at Bullecourt:
6157 Ackroyd, George Charles KIA 4/05/1917
2555 Alford, Edgar Stephen KIA 4/05/1917
2444 Anschau, Gilbert Goldie KIA 5/05/1917
6415 Barlow, Albert Edwin KIA 4/05/1917
517 Barrow, John William KIA 5/05/1917
6459 Bean, John Selwyn KIA 5/05/1917
3694 Beckhaus, John Roy KIA 6/05/1917
5656 Bragg, William George KIA 4/05/1917
5042 Brinkman, Frederick John KIA 5/05/1917
4596 Brooks, George Victor DOW 7/05/1917
713 Brown, Frederick DOW 8/05/1917
3711 Budd, William Arthur Jack KIA 4/05/1917
6233 Budge, James KIA 5/05/1917
6241 Carroll, Joseph DOW 21/05/1917
1516 Chalk, William KIA 4/05/1917
6239 Coffey, William James DOW 28/05/1917
4444 Coles, Percival Clyde DOW 3/06/1917
6248 Corrigan, John Herbert DOW 20/05/1917
6488 Crilly, James KIA 5/05/1917
711 Crocombe, Walter Cecil KIA 5/05/1917
2614 Davidson, George Rae KIA 4/05/1917
4594 Devine, Thomas KIA 5/05/1917
2967 Dunbar, George K IA 7/05/1917
3752 Earp, Frederick Clarence KIA 4/05/1917
4468 Farrell, John DOW 7/05/1917
6502 Fielder, Alfred Leopold KIA 6/05/1917
729 Godart, Thomas Boiville KIA 4/05/1917
2654 Godson, John Harold KIA 6/05/1917
2148 Graham, William George KIA 6/05/1917
1130 Harley, James John KIA 3/05/1917
3090 Harris, Stanley Harold KIA 5/05/1917
734 Heathcote, Albert Wallace KIA 3/05/1917
6516 Hodge, James Barclay KIA 5/05/1917
6039 Hogan, James (Horgan) KIA 3/05/1917
5684 Howard, Francis Reginald R. KIA 4/05/1917
1293 Humberstone, Richard DOW 29/05/1917
5118 Johnson, John Stobart DOW 22/06/1917
6294 Jones, Tom KIA 5/05/1917
2699 Kay, Cyril Charles DOW 13/05/1917
6300 Kennaugh, Frederick Joseph KIA 4/05/1917
3079 Kirkby, Frederick John DOW 3/05/1917
6857 Laing, William Thomas KIA 7/05/1917
3821 Lardeaux, Stanley Edmond KIA 5/05/1917
1295 Lockyer, Thomas James KIA 4/05/1917
6424 Lonergan, Stephen KIA 4/05/1917
6540 MacDonald, Robert Gunn KIA 7/05/1917
5141 Mahoney, Cecil Dennis KIA 4/05/1917
6425 Martin, Frank Harry KIA 5/05/1917
6070 McDonnell, Frank Vincent KIA 6/05/1917
1149 McGrath, Henry Thomas John KIA 5/05/1917
3989 McPhee, Finlay DOW 13/05/1917
6311 Moore, Thomas KIA 5/05/1917
3137 Muir, Robert Joseph KIA 11/05/1917
4523 Murphy, William Bede KIA 3/05/1917
6551 Nixon, William Fletcher KIA 3/05/1917
931 Odell, John Frederick KIA 4/05/1917
6554 Osborne, Joseph KIA 6/05/1917
6079 Patterson, John Ernest DOW 7/05/1917
5722 Paul, Richard Joseph DOW 15/05/1917
769 Peile, Albert Victor KIA 4/05/1917
6340 Raven, Archibald Compton DOD 11/06/1917
5731 Richards, Charlie KIA 6/05/1917
6342 Richards, Henry Mitchell KIA 5/05/1917
6086 Rowell, Thomas KIA 5/05/1917
3223 Seale, Spencer Stanley KIA 5/05/1917
2677 Shepherd, Percy William KIA 5/05/1917
1082 Simpson, Willoughby KIA 5/05/1917
4299 Sinclair, Norval Robert James KIA 5/05/1917
6357 Skelton, Walter KIA 5/05/1917
5445 Smith, Reginald Charles KIA 5/05/1917
1625 Smith, Webster Boland KIA 3/05/1917
1175 Smythe, Herbert Andrew KIA 3/05/1917
1087 Soltau, Herman Henry Frank KIA 6/05/1917
6105 Stammers, Ernest Ward KIA 6/05/1917
5229 Stevens, Alexander KIA 6/05/1917
5742 Swain, John Walton (Walter) KIA 5/05/1917
6428 Taylor, Percival KIA 4/05/1917
5745 Travers, Ambrose Leslie G. KIA 3/05/1917
3930 Walsh, Vivian Henry KIA 4/05/1917
2490 Watson, Robert KIA 5/05/1917
24 Watterson, Jack Wilson DOW 7/05/1917
6596 Williamson, Frederick DOW 3/05/1917
6597 Wilson, John DOW 3/05/1917
195 Yorke, John KIA 4/05/1917
6386 Younger, Charles Arthur DOW 5/05/1917
I have just cut and pasted those from my database, some of the DOW’s may have been men who lingered after Hermies, Flers or Pozieres.
February 9, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Brilliant!! Thanks Phil I’ll check against the list we have from CWGC which we used for my mates war grave photo website…there is a blog entry about it.
May 27, 2012 at 5:43 pm
Hi Justin,
On map 57c NW 1918 / 06. Is that a rail line going into the bottom left of Maricourt Wood. It comes up from Beugny.
April 25, 2012 at 11:17 pm
I have found the above very interesting as my husband’s great grandfather’s half brother Private 1295 Thomas James Lockyer is included in those buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood. His war record has this written in red, most strange. It is time the Australian Government did something about locating these mens graves. To my knowledge Thomas James Lockyer has not been given a proper burial and if this is the case for all of these men then it is time something was done.
August 4, 2014 at 9:10 pm
Hi Jenny, my husband is also related to Thomas James Lockyer. His great grandmother was a half sister of Thomas.
April 26, 2012 at 1:10 am
Thomas James Lockyer who is a member of our family was buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood. I have looked at his service records with a magnifed glass and the coding within the brackets is actually C5 vyc. Meaning I think that he was buried at C5 and the vyc could mean vicinity, it does not look like 517 to me and like all the others is written in red..
April 26, 2012 at 7:05 am
Hi Jenny
Thank you leaving a comment. I’m afraid it is definitively “(57C)” that appears at the end of the writing in Thomas’ service record, it is just very difficult to read because of the penmanship. Also, if anything a C5 reference would apply to a square within a map reference (ie, Map 57 C.5.?.?.?) but even this is only part of the information required to obtain accurate coordinates (eg, J.5.A.3.9. is the burial location stated for 6716 BEAR, James William). I’m not sure what the 517 reference is you are referring to.
I know it’s frustrating to not have information available that clearly indicates Thomas’ burial location but I am still working on this. I have a new blog entry that I will release soon that has some additional information that has come to light. I plan on visiting the war memorial archives shortly to review some maps and non-digital books that might also provide some clues.
Cheers
Justin
April 29, 2012 at 3:22 pm
[…] Posted by Justin Reading under France, Research Leave a Comment In my previous blog entry The Mysterious Red Writing – Maricourt Wood it was mentioned that no further maps or photos could be found of the area in and around Maricourt […]
May 22, 2012 at 6:43 pm
I have a wonderful contact in England who has spent many hours in the Archives in Kew (for free) looking at records there for me and I met her for the 2nd time in France when I went over to the opening of the new Museum at Bulllecourt on 25 April 2012 – If any of you are interested in her many long reports (which at 88 y.o. I find a little difficut to understand) please contact me (I do not know how unless you go to Chapter 1 of my pages – am I allowed to post that on this site????????) but it seems that there were burials by the 11th Bn on the 17th May, 1917 of the many bodies and parts from the previous battles. Some of our thoughts/ideas were ‘way off beam’ and her research found lots of details but still led no closer to where the men were buried or any orders about those actions. In Chapter 6 there on my pages is a map of that Maricourt Wood.. Margaret Clarke (Mardi) –
June 2, 2012 at 10:13 am
Hi Margaret
Of course you can let people know about your research on this blog 🙂
Are you able to provide some more detail about the 11th Battalion burials? Did your friend find these reports in British records or Australian records held by The National Archives?
Cheers
Justin
June 2, 2012 at 12:34 pm
It will take a bit of time to go through all the work she has sent and as I am recovering from jet-lag so will get to it when I can and post it here.
June 2, 2012 at 1:44 pm
Just taken rough copies and there are 9 A4 pages.- Can I copy and paste here? Just have to go through and check.
June 2, 2012 at 8:59 pm
Hi Margaret
Pasting into the comments may not work. Maybe email them to me. 🙂
Also, I went through and read the 11th Btn War Diary for May 1917 and found that the Btn was billeted in FREMICOURT (located just SW of Maricourt Wood) on 17 May 1917. They appeared to be working on sanitation duty in the town itself (brigade baths were located here) but there is no mention of burial detail work further to the NW where Maricourt Wood is located 😦
Cheers
Justin
June 2, 2012 at 9:38 pm
Please send your email address to mardi1924@optusnet.com.au
June 2, 2012 at 9:45 pm
I have added an emaiI I received from th CWGC that makes it about 11 pages on a word doc. If my address does not reach you go to the bottom of Chap. 1 of
http://smythe.id.au/lestweforget/index.htm
October 15, 2012 at 7:20 am
Hello
Just to let you know that my great uncle was Sydney Lardeaux (one of the 63). He was actually English but originally the family was of French ancestory.
He emigrated to Australia after his father died to become a sheep farmer, but when war broke out he joined the Australian Army and was killed at the age of about 18. I have visited the Australian War Memorial in France but am glad of the extra information. Thank you.
Gillian Andrews
April 26, 2013 at 5:53 pm
Stanley Harold Harris is my great uncle and I have recently offered my DNA in the hope that it will assist. I am still waiting on a reply to my offer.
Andrew Harris
July 22, 2014 at 9:41 pm
A number of years ago my late grandfather showed me a photo of his uncle whom was killed in France in 1917 and explained how devastating his death was on the family at the time. That person being William Arthur Jack Budd (3711). I managed to get his war records from the AWM and was intrigued with the red writing at the end of my Great Great Uncles active service record. I was put onto this site today and am amazed at what has been posted. Can anyone provide an update on progress to date if any?
July 23, 2014 at 8:42 am
Hi Matthew
Thanks for stopping by and sharing Will’s story. I recently spent the week leading up to Anzac Day researching at the AWM and top of the list was asking advice about these entries. Basically the response was the entries were probably completed by a clerk in Melbourne, but because no records (or research) have yet come to light regarding who worked there and what their hand writing looked like. So we still don’t have specific details about who wrote the entries or why but maybe something will turn up in the future. There is still a lifetimes worth of records relatng the WW1 that haven’t been looked at since they were created so we’ll just have to keep hunting 🙂
July 24, 2014 at 12:48 pm
[…] W.H. SPICER, wounded). [GARRARD and STEAD were both killed at Pozieres and have no known grave and MACDONALD at Vaulx-Vraucourt. GARRARD's service record states his burial location as being "close to road from Contalmaision to […]
April 29, 2015 at 5:29 pm
Justin, I am doing some research on Fred Kennaugh for my wifes family. Would appreciate any updates on possible burial location.
Thx, Adam
April 29, 2015 at 7:12 pm
Hi Adam
No real progress on this research has been made I’m afraid.
I did manage to obtain burial records from the CWGC for some of the surround cemeteries (where “unknown” Australian’s are buried) but have not any luck in matching up quantities of burials to those missing.
At this stage unless something significant comes to light I feel like for the moment this is as far as we can go for now.
Cheers
Justin
July 19, 2016 at 10:44 am
Would love to know if any progress made, or plans to investigate further? With the 100th anniversary next year I am considering a visit.
cheers
Adam
July 20, 2016 at 9:44 am
Hi Adam
I am sorry but i have not been able to progress my research due to illness. I had hoped to have more details to release on these men and also those in Pozieres before this point in time. I am taking some time off work in August and i am planning on trying to research some more details. Justin
July 20, 2016 at 10:21 am
Appreciate the update. Cheers Adam
July 24, 2016 at 3:20 pm
Hello Justin- I just located your work. My connection is to Thomas James Lockyer, mentioned in your list above (and also by Jenny and Helen in the comments). I’ve been pondering the mystery of Maricourt Wood for some time, and am heading over to the area myself in September. As an archaeologist now completing my PhD in WWI history, I’m hoping to bring some of my skills to bear in working out where to find the grave location. However, I hadn’t realised there were quite so many people involved in that burial, having focussed all my attention on Tom so far- it’s really interesting to read the possibility that concentration did occur into other grave locations.
I’ll keep looking, and if I find anything of relevance, I’ll be sure to share. I had narrowed down Maricourt Wood to the area near Morchies from the 3rd Battalion diary, but the information you’ve given here gives so much more to go on- very much appreciated.
If I can help with anything while I’m in France, please let me know.
July 24, 2016 at 3:36 pm
Hi Adam
I am sorry but i have not been able to progress my research due to illness. I had hoped to have more details to release on these men and also those in Pozieres before this point in time. I am taking some time off work in August and i am planning on trying to resrearch
July 24, 2016 at 3:40 pm
Hi Claire
Wow thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!! I have completed some additional research on surrounding cemeteries with the help of the CWG. No luck yet 😦 i had planned my own trip to Europe for this year but had to prospone due to illness. I’ll send you a note offline as a follow up.
July 29, 2016 at 2:32 pm
Hi there,
Our family connection is with Frederick Kennaugh, my father’s uncle. He joined with 2 other brothers who survived. He was much loved by the family and quite a character. The brothers were from the Isle of Man. Great to see so many interested in this history.
Great to find this blog on the 3rd Battalion. It would be wonderful to fill the gaps and bring these brave men home one day.
March 21, 2018 at 2:46 pm
Hi there, Robert Joseph Muir is my Great Uncle, killed on the 4th May 1917 with the same “red” note on his file. I have been reading this blog with interest. It would make sense that all 63 graves of these soldiers would be in close proximity given the notes on their war records. It was either a very bad period in the war as described and the graves are scattered near and around the area or they were all buried close together. It would be interesting if the CWGC could provide a persons as to and if the remains were removed from the area after the war.
March 21, 2018 at 2:49 pm
Just a further comment to make and it was stated that he lost his life in the second battle of Bullecourt.
April 29, 2019 at 5:48 pm
A great read – thank you as I too wondered about this – glad I googled. Albert Wallace Heathcote MM was my Gt Uncle and one of four bros who served
July 22, 2019 at 1:43 pm
Arthur Wigley
Hello to all respondents,
My Great Uncle James Barclay Hodge was one of the 63 listed as buried in the vicinity of Bullecourt. We visited the area only 6 weeks ago and after consulting with our guide and having read all the information supplied by Justin along with trench maps we were able to come to a conclusion that friendly fire was perhaps the cause of his death along with others.The burial site will remain a guessing game seeing the church grave yard was destroyed.
I have also registered all my family history hoping that the army would ask for my DNA once excavation work begins.