Centennial event for the men of the Cambs Suffolks who fell at Roeux on the 28th April 1917

A while ago I wrote a piece on the recovery of Lance Serjeant Charles Stevens's mortal remains in the village of Roeux by a local homeowner who was preparing groundworks for a garden wall. Stevens was killed in action on the 28th April 1917 and the story can be re-read by clicking here.

Next year, on the 100th anniversary of the ill fated attack on the Chemical Works at Roeux, local dignitaries, interested parties and (hopefully) relatives of those who served in the 11th Battalion, The Suffolk Regiment, will participate in a short service of commemoration on the spot where the Cambs Suffolks fought on that day. Colin Fakes (who has a prime mover in finding a way of paying tribute to his Grandfather, Charles Stevens) and myself will be hosting a three or four day tour of places relevant to the Cambs Suffolks' first 18 months on the Western Front. As well as Roeux we will spend time at Erquinghem Lys and La Boisselle. We are particularly keen for relatives of the 82 men killed on the 28th April who have no known grave to attend as they will be commemorated on a new memorial which will be the focus of the trip. Here is a list of those men:

Askew, Harvey - 14419 - Willingham
Barber, Soloman (Sergeant) - 16606 - Coton
Barlow, William (Lance Corporal) - 24220 - Girton
Batchelor, Arthur Elton - 9687 - Diss, Norfolk
Battley, Arthur James - 43414 - Wrentham, Lowestoft
Bax, Reginald - 13114 - Chelmondiston, Suffolk
Biggs, Harry Robert - 28422 - Chittering
Bowles, George - 9132 - Back Hill, Witchford
Bradbury, Albert Russell Milles - 43424 - Lowestoft
Branch, Albert Sidney - 22480 - Chittering
Brown, Clifford Albert - 16123 - Haverhill, Suffolk
Browne, Ernest Frederick (Corporal) - 43399 - Norwich
Butcher, Allan Robert - 16123 - Ipswich, Suffolk
Catchpole, John - 24830 - Thetford, Norfolk
Charles, Frederick William - 16401 - Waterbeach
Cherry, Sidney (Serjeant) - 50457 - Luton, Bedfordshire
Circus, Thomas Edwin (Lance Corporal) - 14427 - Elsworth
Clark, William - 23996 - Bentley, Suffolk
Clarke, Henry William - 43441 - Lowestoft
Cooper, Arthur James - 22263 - Woolwich, London
Cutter, Charles Henry (Lance Corporal) - 17365 - Hinxton
Daines, William - 24160 - Oulton Broad, Lowestoft
Dennis, Walter - 28331 - St Albans, Hertfordshire
Durtnell, Richard Neville (Second Lieutenant) - Sevenoaks, Kent
Dyson, Arthur Reginald - 9765 - Thurston, Suffolk
Fiske, Alfred - 18961 - Gislingham, Suffolk
Flagg, Samuel - 16277 - March
Gedge, Arthur George - 17518 - Chesterton, Cambridge
Goldsmith, Arthur (Lance Corporal) - 13422 - Wickham Market
Goose, Percy Alfred (Lance Corporal) - 24219 - Willingham
Gould, Stanley Edmond (Lance Corporal) - 50460 - Loughton, Essex
Green, Walter - 20135 - Croydon, Cambs
Hale, John - 18718 - Bury St Edmunds
Hancock, Harry Baxter - 24422 - Oundle
Hardy, Sidney - 26293 - Long Melford, Suffolk
Harrison, George - 21004 - Stamford, Lincolnshire
Hawkins, Ernest - 43489 - Cardington, Bedfordshire
Hayes, Frank - 41158 - Harrogate, Yorkshire
Hepher, James William - 23971 - Swavesey
Hill, Owen - 18474 - Linton
Hollingworth, George William - 41159 - Leicester
Howell, Charles - 43490 - Clown, Derbyshire
Howlett, Ernest Osborne - 16235 - Wicken
Hunt, John William Reynolds (Second Lieutenant) - Coton
Jepson, William Livesey - 41132 - Darwen, Lancashire
Johnson, John Alfred - 16914 - Fordham
Kirby, Joseph - 15881 - Ely
Linford, Alfred Aaron (Serjeant) - 15663 - Swavesey
Lush, Rowland - 43498 - Bordersley, Warwick
Mannall, Robert - 20813 - Charsfield, Suffolk
Mayhew, Walter - 18434 - Redingfield, Suffolk
Mead, Charles Arthur - 24166 - East Bergholt, Suffolk
Missen, Arthur - 18367 - Lavenham, Suffolk & Trumpington
Neal, Nathaniel (Corporal) - 16248 - Littleport
Nunn, Albert George - 9597 - Stowlangtoft, Bury St Edmunds
Palmer, Charles William - 18212 - Beck Row, Suffolk
Parr, Thomas Kelly - 39788 - Fordham, Ely
Patterson, William George - 25238 - Catton, Norwich
Pettit, William Charles - 13606 - Horningsea
Phillips, Albert James - 26873 - Longstanton
Pipe, Willoughby Henry - 15105 - Spexall, Suffolk
Presland, Reginald - 16310 - Croydon, Hertfordshire
Rignall, Albert Bartingale - 14774 - Longstanton
Runnacles, Harry (Lance Corporal) - 12080 - Badingham, Suffolk
Sanders, Ernest - 50049 - Cromer, Norfolk
Smith, Harry - 235222 - Newark, Nottinghamshire
Smith, James - 21006 - Stetchworth, Newmarket
Snare, Lewis - 24876 - Fordham, Newmarket
South, Ernest - 24738 - Wilbraham
Speechley, Harold - 24420 - Glapthorne, Northamptonshire
Stevens, Charles William (Lance Serjeant) - 17203 - Swaffham Bulbeck
Steward, Samuel - 24704 - Woolpit, Suffolk
Taylor, William - 16604 - Harston, Cambridge
Thomson, Alexander William - 50686 - Shepherd's Bush, London
Topham, Percy - 24316 - Unknown
Tyndall, Thomas Image - 39449 - Wisbech
Tynet, Thomas Harold - 27669 - Paddington, London
Watson, Clement Frederick - 16419 - Cambridge
Wedd, Albert - 20115 - Melbourn, Hertfordshire
White, George - 34159 - Tottenham, London
Willingham, William George (Corporal) - 43388 - Ipswich, Suffolk
Wright, William - Quy, Cambridge - 31855

Talking about the Stevens story to Gerald Main from the BBC - click here.

General Konstanin Rokossovsky at Kursk (1943)

We'd heard bad things about the city of Kursk but decided to stopover in the city on our way up to Orel anyway. We found Kursk to be a fascinating place with some beautiful churches and public buildings. It's also a handy jumping off point for the German Military Cemetery at Besedino and the site of General Rokossovsky's 1943 headquarters complex in the village of Svoboda.

Gas powered bus in the city of Kursk

Kursk, was of course slightly to the west of where the 9th and 4th Panzer Armies (attacking from the north and south respectively) would have met up had the German plan been executed successfully. The driver for the German plan was the prospect of encircling the vast quantities of men and material that the Soviet army had committed to the defence of the Kursk salient.

Wedding party on Victory Avenue, Kursk

A good place to orientate yourself in the city, is the stunning Sergiev-Kazan cathedral with it's impressive bell-tower and richly decorated interiors. The church was made into a provincial museum pre-war and in anticipation of Barbarossa rolling through the city, an attempt was made to hide artistic treasures in the walled up nave of the lower church. Sadly this attempt failed - the invading Axis forces broke open the false wall and removed the priceless contents to the Reich. Under German jurisdiction the church was returned to it's original religious use.

View of Kursk from the Sergiev-Kazan cathedral tower

Outer sanctuary of the Sergiev-Kazan cathedral

General Rokossovsky established his headquarters bunker complex at the village of Svoboda which lies about twenty miles north-west of Kursk city via a minor road. This hugely respected Soviet commander was mixed Russian-Polish by birth and his career very nearly ended in the pre-war Stalinist purges. He was rehabilitated into the Russian Army in 1940 and in the winter of 1941-2 defence of Moscow earned plaudits for his outstanding leadership. His all-arms defensive operation in the Kursk salient was an outstanding achievement which opened the door to Operation Kutusov (which will be the subject of a future blog entry).

Memorial at Svoboda

Konstantin Rokossovsky - Svoboda Bunker Complex

The military cemetery at Besedino - about fifteen miles to the east of Kursk city contains about twenty five thousand German (and their allies) military graves of which a minority are known. The names of the 'Battle of Kursk' fallen where there is no known grave are listed on a series of upright stones flanking the main path through the cemetery. The cemetery was opened in 2009 and there are new internments every year.

Besedino German Military Cemetery

During our drive through Kursk we noticed a neon sign announcing an 'English Pub' - quite a common sight in Russia nowadays. Given that there are very few English speaking visitors to Kursk we thought we'd give it a try. German beer, Scottish ornaments - including tartan curtains and bar staff who were completely indifferent to the fact that three of us shared our nationality with their brand. A great night but quite bizarre!

Ringing the bells

We received a more effusive welcome at the Sergiev-Kazan where one of the bell-ringers, who had a few too many vodkas, took a shine to our small party and took us up the ladders to the bell tower where I had an impromptu bell-ringing lesson.

City of Kursk Flickr pictures here.
Rokossovsky Svoboda pictures here.