La Targette
Location
Neuville-St Vaast is a village 6.5 kilometres north of Arras, a little east of the road from Bethune to Arras. La Targette British Cemetery lies to the south-west of the village on the north-west side of the road to the village of Maroeuil (D55).
Two things to note if asking for directions: St Vaast (The patron saint of Arras) is pronounced without the -st so it sounds like vaa. Targette is pronounced Tar-zhette because in French G before E is pronounced as a soft J.
11,000 French soldiers lay behind the British Cemetery
Historical Information
La Targette British Cemetery is in the Western angle of the cross roads at Aux-Rietz, and behind it is the large French National Cemetery of La Targette, formed largely by concentration from smaller burial grounds.
The British Cemetery formerly known as Aux-Rietz Military Cemetery, was begun at the end of April 1917, and used by Field Ambulances and fighting units until September 1918; and sixteen graves were brought in from the immediate neighbourhood after the Armistice.
The cemetery contains 638 First World War burials, 41 of them unidentified. There are also three Second World War burials, two of which are unidentified.
Nearly a third of the graves have an artillery connection.
In March-April 1917, the artillery of the 2nd Canadian and 5th Divisions, and certain heavy artillery units, had their headquarters in a deep cave at Aux-Rietz.
The 21st Canadian Infantry Battalion erected a wooden memorial in the cemetery to their dead of April 1917.
The cemetery covers an area of 2,852 square metres and is enclosed by a stone curb on two sides, and on the other two by a low rubble wall.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.
Private A Crane 40512
15th Bn West Yorkshire Regiment
(Prince of Wales's Own)
Died on 20th August 1917 aged 28
Husband of Helen Crane, of II, Park Row, Selby
Grave: I H 7
Within a radius of 10 kilometres there are approximately 200 000 military graves, a testament to the ferocious fighting that took place in this area.
Notre Dame de Lorette is France's largest and most important Nécropole National sitting on the hill opposite Vimy Ridge. The largest German Soldatenfriedhof in France is a minute's driving away at Maison Blanche.
There is a collection of interesting monuments and a very good museum within the village of La Targette.
On the road to ND de Lorette you pass a Polish Memorial and a Czechoslovak Memorial and Cemetery honouring soldiers from the French Foreign Legion.
La Targette French Military Cemetery
La Targette
Maison Blanche Soldatenfriedhof
Artois 1915
Arras 1917