Cabaret Rouge Cemetery
Location
Souchez is a village 3.5 kilometres north of Arras on the main road to Béthune. The cemetery is about 1.5 kilometres south of the village on the west side of the D937 Arras-Béthune Road.
This is a very busy road and you should note that, coming from Arras, it is illegal to cross the road into the parking area.
It would be better to visit Notre Dame de Lorette first and then, having visited General Barbot's monument in the village on the way out, stop at Cabaret Rouge.
Also to be noted as you climb the hill out of Souchez : You are still in the 50 kph zone of Souchez Village. I have seen the radar deployed from the top of the hill ready to catch motorists speeding past heavy goods vehicles. Do not say you have not been warned.
Historical Information
Souchez was sacked more than once in the Middle Ages, and raided by the Germans in December, 1870.
It was captured by the French on the 26th September, 1915, and the area was taken over by British troops in the following March. The village was completely destroyed.
The Cabaret Rouge was a house on the main road about 1 kilometre south of the village, at a place called Le Corroy, near the present day British cemetery.
The Chapel of Notre Dame de Lorette on the hillside in the distance
On the East side, opposite the cemetery, were dugouts used as Battalion Headquarters in 1916. The communication trenches ended here, including a very long one named from the Cabaret.
The cemetery was begun by British troops in March, 1916, and used until August, 1917 (largely by the 47th (London) Division and the Canadian Corps) and - at intervals - until September, 1918. (These original burials are in Plots I to V inclusive).
It was greatly enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of over 7,000 graves, partly from the battlefields of Arras, and partly from 103 other burial grounds in the Nord and the Pas-de-Calais.
There are now nearly 8,000, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site and 1 from the 1939-45 War.
The cemetery covers an area of 24,772 square metres and is enclosed by a low rubble wall.
Canada's Unknown Soldier
On 25th May 2000 the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier were entrusted to Canada at a ceremony held at the Vimy Memorial, France.
The remains had been exhumed by France Area staff of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission from:
Plot 8, Row E, Grave 7
The remains were laid to rest within the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in a sarcophagus placed at the foot of the National War Memorial, Confederation Square, Ottawa, Canada.
Brothers: died the same day
|
Private Wilfred Chenier 814813 Sons of Janvier Chenier, of Buckingham, Quebec |
Private Olivier Chenier 814814 |
Grave: XII E 15 |
Grave: XII E 16 |
Until the day break |
And the shadows flee away |
|
Private Henry Fleming 75904 Sons of Thomas and Janet Fleming, of 22 Caldew St Carlisle, Cumberland |
Private Thomas Fleming 62642 Their joint inscription running from one grave to the other is thought to be unique. |
Grave: VIII R 16 |
Grave: VIII R 17 |
Lance Corporal R Wingate S/8173
8th Bn The Black Watch
Royal Highlanders
Died on 14th September 1916 aged 27
Son of Mr and Mrs James Wingate, of 37 Bannockburn Rd, St Ninians
Husband of Annie Wingate, of 8 Barn Rd, Stirling
Grave: IV D 2
Private P Davidson 1102
29th Bn AIF
Died on 20th July 1916
Grave: XVI C 1
Shot at Dawn
There are two soldiers commemorated in the cemetery who had been executed for desertion.
Lance Corporal Peter Sands 8225
1st Bn Royal Irish Rifles
Died on 15th September 1915 aged 27
Husband of Elizabeth Sands, of 74 Abyssinia St, Belfast
Fleurbaix Churchyard Memorial 41
It would appear that little is known about the background of Peter Sands's exploits apart from the fact that he was one of the few who managed to get back across the Channel having absconded from his regiment in the lines opposite Aubers Ridge.
He was shot and buried at Fleurbaix but like Wishard below his body could not be located after the war and he is commemorated here together with the other missing of Fleurbaix Churchyard.
List of Soldiers Shot at Dawn
Private J Wishard 26248
7th Bn Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
Died on 15th June 1917
Merris Churchyard Memorial 51
On his way to join his unit Wishard went absent and was discovered in Boulogne. He managed to escape from arrest was picked up again soon afterwards, still in Boulogne. The fact that he had changed into civilian clothes would have counted heavily against him and despite his plea that his son was ill the court found against him and he was shot at Merris.
Following the war it was impossible to relocate his body and so he is commemorated here.
It will be noted that despite their fate, each of these two soldiers has been honoured in death no differently than his comrades alongside.
Arras
Notre Dame de Lorette
Vimy Ridge
La Targette British Cemetery
Maison Blanche Soldatenfriedhof