Zouave Valley Cemetery
Location
Souchez is a village some 12 kilometres north of Arras on the main road to Béthune. Zouave Valley Cemetery is approximately 2 kilometres south-east of the village, and lies in the valley which extends southwards from Souchez on the western side of Vimy Ridge.
This really doesn’t do the route justice.
There is a sign in the village in the main square but after that it is a bit thin on information.
Continue along behind the houses until you are almost out of the village, the road then becomes a rather bumpy track as you pass the last remaining houses (if you turn left at the last exit in the village towards the hillside you arrive at Givenchy-en-Gohelle Canadian Cemetery — don’t do it, the road is awful. Go up to the Canadian Memorial and come in from the far side, your vehicle will thank you for it !) Once at the cemetery it is possible to turn around.
| GPS | N | E | OSM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decimal | 50.37747 | 2.75396 | Map |
Historical Information
The cemetery is named from French Regiments which fought round Souchez in 1914-15.
The cemetery was begun in May 1916, and used until June 1917. It suffered severely from shell fire. It was increased after the Armistice by the concentration of graves (which now form Plot I) from a wide area round Souchez.
There are now nearly 250, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. Of these, over a quarter are unidentified and special memorials are erected to 8 soldiers from the United Kingdom and 3 from Canada, known or believed to be buried among them.
Five graves in Plot II, identified as a group but not individually, are marked by headstones bearing the additional words: Buried near this spot.
The cemetery covers an area of 1,533 square metres and is enclosed by a rubble wall.
One German Soldier is buried in grave: II G 2.
Looking along the valley towards Souchez
Notre Dame de Lorette up on the left