Bouchoir New British Cemetery
Location
Bouchoir is a village on the straight main road from Amiens to Roye. From Peronne take the N17 to Roye then the D934 to Amiens. Travel for approximately 8 kilometres and just before the village of Bouchoir the cemetery will be found on the right hand side of the road.
It is not quite as simple as that. This section of the D 934 is a dual carriageway and can be very busy. The speed limit is 110kph and there are speed cameras. Do not attempt to park outside the cemetery on this road.
Coming from Amiens the main road by-passes Bouchoir village but the cemetery is well signposted with the green CWGC panels. Continue towards Roye (Pronounced R-wah not R-oy) and you will see the cemetery on the other side of the dual carriageway.
Take the next junction to your left and you will see the CWGC sign pointing towards the cemetery. The same now goes if coming from the other direction. The sign is actually pointing down a track running alongside the dual carriageway. It will meet the cemetery and follow around the wall before continuing out the far side to rejoin the carriageway. So if you miss the turn continue towards Bouchoir and then turn back on yourself.
| GPS | N | E | OSM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decimal | 49.74054 | 2.68882 | Map |
Historical Information
The village of Bouchoir passed into German hands on 27 March 1918 but was recovered by the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade on 9 August 1918.
The New British Cemetery was made after the Armistice when graves were brought there from several small Commonwealth cemeteries and from the battlefields round Bouchoir and south of the village. Almost all date from March, April or August 1918.
The cemetery now contains 763 burials and commemorations of the First World War. 231 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to five casualties known or believed to be buried among them. Another special memorial commemorates an airman buried in Laboissière German Cemetery whose grave could not be found.
The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker.
The graves in Plots I and II are numbered consecutively from 1 to 144. Those in Plot III are numbered from 1 to 135, and the same system applies to Plot IV. Plots V and VI are numbered by rows in the usual way.
Private William David Boag 853247
4th Bn Canadian Infantry
Central Ontario Regiment
Died on 9th August 1918 aged 21
Son of Henry and Alice Boag,
of Burwash, Ontario
Born at Queensville, Ontario
Grave: II A 27
In March 1918 William Boag had left his name and number inscribed on the wall of the church at Ecoivres in the Pas de Calais.
Lieutenant Dermot Harris
4th Bn Canadian Infantry
Central Ontario Regiment
Died on 9th August 1918 aged 22
Son of John and Mary Harris
of 62 Aberdeen St, Oshawa,
Ontario, Canada. Born in Ireland.
Grave: II A 31
Lieutenant Kilcoursie Sigismund Courtenay
3rd Bn Dorsetshire Regiment
Died on 11th August 1918 aged 25
Son of Kilcoursie and Maude Courtenay,
of Wareham, Dorset
God blessed thee
And put courage in thy soul
Love, charity
Obedience and true duty
Grave: IV E 109
Private R Oakes 255255
1st Bn Canadian Mounted Rifles
Died on 10th August 1918
Grave: IV E 121
Major Leonard Drummond-Hay MC
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
Eastern Ontario Regiment
Died on 14th August 1918 aged 23
Son of Mr E Drummond-Hay,
of Kitscoty, Alberta, Canada
Grave: III A 4
Private J McBain 59529
5/6th Bn Royal Scots
Died on 11th August 1918 aged 19
Son of James and Anna McBain,
of 36 Dixon Rd, Crosshill, Glasgow
Grave: VI A 13
A few kilometres away in the Churchyard Extension at Warvillers lies the Cree marksman Henry Norwest MM and Bar. (Grave A 30). He won his first Military Medal during the great Canadian victory at Vimy in April 1917.
Opposite Warvillers cemetery there are two memorials.