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Yorkshire
Regiment War Graves, - Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery |
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Contalmaison was reached on the 1st July, 1916, by small parties of the 34th Division. It was stormed by the 23rd Division on the 7th July, and some men of the Northumberland Fusiliers taken four days earlier were released; but it was lost the same afternoon. It was not finally captured until the 8th and 9th Yorkshire Regiment cleared it on the 10th July. However, it was lost again in March, 1918, and recaptured by the 38th (Welsh) Division on the evening of the following 24th August.
The cemetery was begun by fighting units on the evening of the 14th July, 1916, and used from September, 1916 to March, 1917 by Field Ambulances. A few burials were made in Plot I, Rows B and C, in August and September, 1918. Graves were added after the Armistice by concentrations from the battlefields of the Somme and the Ancre.
There are now nearly 300, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated
in this site. Of these, over 40 are unidentified.
Amongst the graves are 3 for soldiers of the Yorkshire Regiment, including
William Short, VC.
Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery
(Photo : Christopher Weekes, <weebex12@hotmail.com>)
 Click on thumbnail image for a larger version of the photo |
Private Robert Watson Brown.
17666. 8th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Killed 5 August 1916. Born Newbottle (Durham), Enlisted Houghton-le-Spring, Resided Fencehouses. Robert Brown's grave is marked "BELIEVED TO BE". (Photo : Christopher Weekes, <weebex12@hotmail.com>) |
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 Click on thumbnail image for a larger version of the photo |
Private Thomas William Sunley.
4137. 5th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment. Son of Alfred and Catherine
Sunley, of Malpas Villa, Malpas Rd., Northallerton. Killed 14 September
1916. Aged 19. Enlisted Northallerton. (Photo : Christopher Weekes, <weebex12@hotmail.com>) |
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Glenn Stone (<stoneyg27@hotmail.com>), a great
nephew of William Short VC, has sent photographs of William Short's grave
in the Contalmaison Cemetery in France. These photos are of the grave itself,
as well as of Glenn and his daughter Emilia. The photos were taken when Glenn
and his daughter visited the grave on the 90th Anniversary of William Short's
death.
Glenn has also included a photograph of a water tower at Contalmaison, which
bears the names of 7 winners of the VC from the Battle of Contalmaison. Amongst
them is the name of William Short.
Additionally, there is a photograph of William Short's memorial obelisk in
Eston Cemetery, and a photo (source unknown) of William
Short's original grave on the battlefield.
William Short VC.
A biography of William Short, and an account of the action in which he won the VC, can be read on this website.
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The grave of William Short in Contalmaison Cemetery. ----------- Private William Henry Short, VC. 12067 "C" Coy. 8th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment. Son of James and Anne Short, of 35, Vaughan St., Grangetown, Yorks. Born at Eston, Yorks. Died 7 August 1916. Aged 31. |
Glenn Stone and his daughter Emilia visiting
William Short's grave on the 90th Anniversary of William Short's death. |
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The water tower in nearby Pozieres on
which William Short's name is included. For further
photos and details, see below. |
The Memorial obelisk to William Short
in Eston Cemetery. |
Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery
(Photo : Christopher Weekes, <weebex12@hotmail.com>)
In Pozieres, a village nearby to the North of Contalmaison, a water tower commemorates 7 holders of the Victoria Cross. All 7 VC holders won the award in fighting in the area in 1916. Five of the names commemorated are Australian, one is Canadian, and one is that of William Short, VC, of the 8th Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment.
Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>) photographed the water tower and the commemorations painted onto the tower.
The Water Tower in Pozieres
Photo : Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>)
Names Commemorated on the Water Tower in Pozieres
Photo : Richard Roberts (<richard.nsw@googlemail.com>)
William Short's Original Grave on the Battlefield (Source Unknown).
