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 Wood. It was in these maps we wanted to attempt to determine: 1) the location of the railways in the area; 2) the location of any drop points on this railway; and 3) the possible location of any burials. Then one of my readers [thanks Phil] spotted a June 1918 map (57c NW) of the Vaulx-Vraucourt area which may well have helped us check off all three of these items.
The images below show the area in and around Maricourt Wood which, as previously discussed, lies on the road between Vaulx-Vraucourt and Morchies. Now it should be pointed out here that I have a very rudimentary understanding of all of the elements that appear on the map shown in these images. I am willing to attempt to analyse them but will yield to anyone who can offer a better explanation or correct any mistakes made.
This first image shows the area of land between Vaulx-Vraucourt and Morchies and also the land to the south of Vaulx-Vraucourt. On this image you note three small circled areas and one large oval area marked in yellow. You will note that the location of two of these camp areas (as per the legend in the centre of the map), located south and east of Vaulx-Vraucourt, match the locations indicated on the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance diary map, and subsequently the map drawn by me in ‘The Mysterious Red Writing – Maricourt Wood’. The additional camp area in the middle may well have been established some time later. You will also note the red hashed lines running between these points which are ‘tracks’, as per the legend, again match the the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance diary map. Also of interest on this image is the Maricourt Wood area, in the yellow oval, which appears to indicate two large ‘camp area located in very close proximity to the northern boundary of Maricourt Wood, and a large ‘trench’ near its eastern boundary (just behind the wire entanglement)
In this close up view of the Maricourt Wood area you will note there is also another camp area visible to the north-west (small yellow oval) and that the trench located to the east of the wood appears to somewhat larger than the other trenches in the area. It is too difficult to determine whether or not the red rectangles to the north of Maricourt Wood are hatched areas indicating a camp area or maybe something else.
When an even closer view of the map is taken, of the camp area to the north of Maricourt Wood and the trench to the east, it still is not clear exactly what the markings actually are. It is possible that the red markings may also be indicating something other than a camp area, and that the large blue trench may just be a over zealous scribble when indicating the location of posts.
Whatever the case, there is nothing on these maps that definitively establishes an area where soldiers remains may have been buried. There is of course the possibility that the original remains were repatriated from the area around Maricourt Wood, but because the graves were either damaged or the markers missing (or destroyed) that they were simply re-interned as an unknown soldiers.
Interestingly, for the date period in question (3rd May 1917 – 9th May 1917) there are only 13 recorded burials for the 3rd Battalion in 4 cemeteries (5 additional soldiers Died of Wounds and were buried outside of the Pas de Calais region):
Grevillers British Cemetery – 7 graves
Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy – 3 graves
Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery – 1 grave
Vraucourt Copse Cemetery, Vaulx-Vraucourt – 1 grave
Two of these cemeteries, Vaulx Australian Field Ambulance Cemetery and Vraucourt Copse Cemetery, Vaulx-Vraucourt are in very close proximity to both Vaulx-Vraucourt and the railway lines mentioned in my previous entry The Mysterious Red Writing – Maricourt Wood. Is it possible that the remains of the missing men are buried in one (or more) of these two cemeteries as unknown solders? Maybe, but with there being so many other cemeteries in that region this would prove to be a challenging question to answer (see image below).
Also, add to this that the list of GPS co-ords that I am working from appears to be incomplete. The cemetery named Vraucourt Copse Cemetery, Vaulx-Vraucourt appears to be missing from my list. It is located north of Vaulx Hill Cemetery midway along the road between Vaulx-Vraucourt and Noreuil. According to the Australian War Graves Photographic Archive and Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) there is only one 3rd Battalion soldier buried there who died on 6 May 1917, which is within our identified time period.
Again, I am left in an untenable situation as the CWGC does not list numbers of unmarked graves in these cemeteries let alone the numbers that might be Australian. As stated in my previous post I think that a trip to the Australian War Memorial archives is in order to try and locate any additional maps or aerial photos of the region.
June 1, 2012 at 4:47 pm
Justin,
The map of June 1918 is correct as Vaulx Vraucourt and Morchies were retaken by the Germans on March 21 1918.
If you look at that map, to the right of Maricourt Wood you will see a German cemetery with a crucifix. Just up from there on the other side of the road is another crucifix. Could this be where they are buried as it in sight of Maricourt Wood. If you look at Morchies Military Cemetery in the photo top right is Maricourt Wood. I think they would have been buried by the Germans.
All the best
Brian
June 2, 2012 at 10:08 am
Hi Brian
Yes, interesting. I wonder how many unnamed graves there are in both Morchies Military Cemetery and Morchies Communal Cemetery? It seems like both of these cemeteries have a very small number of military casualties (176 and 5) so would suspect that more attention would be given to 60+ unmarked graves if they were buried there 😦
I think the crucifix you pointed out is Morchies Communal Cemetery and the “German” cemetery is Morchies Military Cemtery (refer https://3rdbattalionaif.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/pas-de-calais-ww1-cemetries.png and http://ww1cemeteries.com/ww1frenchcemeteries/morchiesmilitary.htm).
This hunt for a location is getting very frustrating…….
Cheers
Justin
June 10, 2012 at 5:26 pm
Hi Justin,
Just wondered,
On their records what does the ( sh ) stand for after wr3 ?.
I notice there are (sh 8) (sh 10) and (sh 11).
Could it be it stands for shel hole ?
Regards Brian
April 26, 2013 at 6:08 pm
Forgive me for entering this blog so late but I have recently started investigating the whereabouts of the remains of my great uncle Stanley Harold Harris (one of those with the red “Maricourt Wood” written on his papers). (His brother Herbert Thomas Harris was killed in action at Pozieres and the whereabouts of his remains are also apparently unknown, but that is another story I suppose.). I have recently offered my DNA in an effort to locate the remains of both these brothers of my grandfather, but I have yet to receive a reply from the Australian authorities about that offer. Has there been any progress in relation to the “Maricourt Wood” reference in the past year? Many thanks.
April 26, 2013 at 6:09 pm
I would be grateful of any advice at all about this, and meanwhile I am studying your research with great appreciation.
May 4, 2013 at 11:58 am
Hi Andrew
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. One interesting thing I’ve noted about Stanley is that his service record appears to have his burial location recorded as being in Belgium not France, but this does not match his date of death. His service record states “Buried Tynecot Mil Cem 1 1/4 miles SW of Passchendaele 5 1/4 E.N.E. of Ypres”, whilst the 3rd Battalion were in Belgium and fighting in that region for a period of time they did so at a different time during the war. Also, Stanley is one of 27 men killed (almost half) on 5 May 1917 who all have the same red writing recorded in their service records. This by far the greatest contraction of deaths related to a single date I’ve found with these 63 men.
I must admit I have not been able to advance my research any further yet due to work and university study commitments, but I hope that towards the end of this year I will be able to visit Canberra and try and seek some assistance from the AWM staff.
Cheers
Justin
May 4, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Justin, thank you so much for your reply. I am grateful for your interest. I am attaching 2 documents from Stan’s archives which indicate (again in that red handwriting) that the references to Tynecot and Passchendaele are mistakes.
He is, it would seem, definitely buried at or near Maricourt Wood, along with the is 62 others.
I have recently offered my DNA but it seems that it is not wanted at the moment (they are only interested in Fromelles and Korea), so I have drafted another letter. I am attaching it here too. I have not yet sent that letter because I am thinking of strengthening it and sending it to the relevant Ministers and Opposition members too.
After seeing the photos of cemeteries and graves of unknown soldiers at the places where Stan and Herb Harris are buried I believe that our government should definitely get interested. It shames those responsible, and it shames the nation too, if we are not sufficiently interested. I am 60 now and we do not have forever to collect the relevant DNA databases for all this.
If there are any errors in my letter I would be grateful of your corrections or comments. I am most appreciative of your excellent work.
You are very welcome to post all this on your blog. I would like that.
Thanks again and regards
Andrew Harris
July 18, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Justin, according to both you and Margaret there are 62 x 3rd battalion men with the notation in their file “Buried in the vicinity of Maricourt Wood”. After being approached by a descendant of Anschau, I looked through yours and Margaret’s separate research and then checked the records again. I found a further two missing 3rd Bn men with the same notation in their service file:
769 Corporal Albert Victor PEILE, KIA 4/5/17, VB Memorial
1625 Private Webster Boland SMITH, KIA 5/5/17, VB Memorial
BUT….through past experience, I thought it also worthwhile checking the files of those 3rd Bn men killed during the same period who HAVE a named grave and discovered that one of these also had the same notation “Buried in vicinity of Maricourt Wood’ in his file:
6425 Frank Harry MARTIN, KIA 5/5/17, Queant Road Cemetery
His body was recovered by the Graves Units post-war in 1921. Prior to that he had been listed as missing/presumed killed. According to his file (well worth reading) he was identified from the cover of his paybook found with the remains.
Although MARTIN’s file doesn’t provide the information about from where his body was initially exhumed before being re-buried at Queant Road Cemetery, an enquiry with the CWGC might produce some results. They still maintain the original burial returns for many of their cemeteries and these usually provide the grid map reference from where the body was initially exhumed. If it’s anywhere near Maricourt Wood then that might add some weight to the proposition that at some point these men were taken from their battlefield graves and re-buried there.
Of course, we are assuming that whoever wrote the notation was reasonably accurate with the location and not just generalising about all the individual 3rd Bn battlefield graves spread around the area over that period. It doesn’t seem to have been written as a result of Graves Registration Unit reports because they are usually clearly referenced. The 3rd Battalion was indeed fighting around the Vaulx/Morchies/Noreuil area between 29/4-4/5/17 which would make sense of the notation but from the 5/5/17 onwards they were further north around Bullecourt/Reincourt which seems a bit to far away from Maricourt Wood.
What is of interest is the fact that according to the available Red Cross records, almost all of these men originally had a ‘marked’ battlefield grave. But even more interesting is that this notation appears to be confined to 3rd Bn men (I have done some random checks of men in other 1st Brigade battalions at the time and can’t find the same notation in any of their files). This suggests that it was written (or reported to base records) from someone from within the 3rd Bn itself.
August 4, 2013 at 1:31 pm
Hi Justin.
I have been doing some more work on the 3rd Bn and have found something interesting. I have been looking at some satellite images of Maricourt Wood. I went on to Flash Earth and along the road that runs up the side of the wood. You will need to enlarge it. Keep going until you see something blue on the left of the road. Then go to the right and enlarge more. Could these be graves, it looks very regimental and there could be more than the 3rd Bn here. Se what you think ?.
My Nephew was there last year but could not see as there was a large crop of corn growing there. He is hoping to go back this year when there are no crops.
You can also see a memorial to Smyth ( I think ) on the other side of the road.
Let me know what you think
Brian
August 4, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Hi Brian
Yes, very interesting!
I count 108 large squares and if we scale against the road it seems like there would be 500+ burials there?!?
There must be some explanation for these markings but it seems strange that if there possibly were graves there why would they continue to farm corn crops?
I might post a note to the FFFAIF Facebook page and see if anyone has any insight.
Cheers
Justin
August 4, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Hi Justin,
Thanks for your comments, I did think that myself but when you think of how many were killed there.
Could the 3rd battalion have carried their dead mates back with them when they returned to that area after leaving the front line. I did see in the Battalion records they were on carrying duties for a few days.
I don’t know what it is but there are no buildings there. He could not fined the owner to ask him what it was.
I did notice when reading about Queant Road Cemetery that there were 2 Cemeteries on the north side of Noreuil during the war. they say there were 50 Australians in these but not which battalions.
Regards
Brian
August 12, 2013 at 10:22 pm
My great uncle George Rae Davidson has the notation in red on his service record. There is another notation to the far right which looks like a name but I cannot read it.
August 12, 2013 at 10:35 pm
Thanks for the heads up Helen 🙂
George is mentioned on my previous blog entry here.
The writing to the left are reference numbers, I don`t have much info on these yet. I am hoping they`ll have something to do with burial returns.
Cheers Justin
August 30, 2013 at 7:57 pm
My great uncle is Webster Boland Smith – we looked around Maricourt Wood, but then I found Red Cross reports to indicate he was wounded and left at Butte de Warlencourt between Pozieres and Baupaume. Found that ok alond with many unidentified buried Australians but most from 25th batallion. There was one from 4th Batallion only 6 from my great uncles service number 1625 and 1631. Other than that still a mystery but I can only presume he is one of the many unidentified buried. Sad and a bit dissapointing.
September 21, 2013 at 8:00 pm
It is extremely disappointing, shameful almost, that the Australian Government’s various relevant departments are not interested in collecting DNA from people like us (I have offered and been rejected) in an effort to identify these dead young men (e.g. two of my great uncles there), particularly as we have such strong evidence as to where they are buried, and also because the Centenary of these massacres is approaching. One day there won’t be many descendants like us to provide DNA. What happened to “Lest We Forget”?
January 18, 2014 at 1:48 am
G’day Justin,
My wife’s great, great uncle also has the mysterious red phrase in his records. He was Pte James Barclay Hodge. I hope someone can make some headway with this. It is a shame that nobody really knows where he lies.
Rhys
January 18, 2014 at 1:28 pm
Hi Rhys, yes Pvt Hodge is listed on my previous post (https://3rdbattalionaif.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/the-mysterious-red-writing-maricourt-wood/). My hope is that putting this information online that someday someone will discover that missing piece of the puzzle that lead us to their resting place. Lest We Forget.
July 8, 2020 at 2:39 am
G’day Rhys,
6516, Private James Barclay Hodge, known to the family as Barclay, is my Grandmother’s youngest brother. Apart from all the interest on this ‘forum’, i am wondering how your wife is connected to me in the family tree?
Eddie
December 11, 2014 at 7:56 pm
Hi Justin, I have been researching my great uncle Pte Tom Jones who was also KIA 5/5/17 at Bullecourt. As you know, his papers have the same red writing in relation to his burial details. My mum is sure she has an old photo of a grave with T.A.Jones written on the back of it. I hope we can find this pic, it may help solve the mystery of where these poor souls lay. I must admit, I got pretty teary when I found out that he may be in an unmarked grave somewhere near Maricourt Wood. Lest We Forget.
January 16, 2018 at 10:30 pm
Hi Justin I’ve read this post and the Maricourt wood one with interest as I have a relative KIA 5.5.17 with the same red notation on his record. Stanley Edward Lardeaux). I’m in the UK and am currently awaiing a reply from the CWGC.
March 21, 2018 at 6:14 pm
I wished I would have red this post last year. I was in the area in October 2017. My Great Uncle is one of these soldiers.