Footsteps of the fallen

A tale of two cemeteries


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 In today's podcast, we take a walk through two small but fascinating cemeteries in Artois, La Targette British Cemetery near Neuville St Vaast, and Le Trou Aid Post located near Fleurbaix.  Not necessarily on the itinerary of many battlefield visitors, they contain men whose stories are fascinating, and in this episode, we look at some of them.

We hear about the staggering losses suffered by the French during the offensives of 1915 and the story of a remarkable piece of deception, performed by a British officer using a stolen German helmet and a large pile of turnips, which enabled him to escape from German custody.  We look at sets of brothers who died including a remarkable epitaph on the grave of a fallen soldier, and the sad story of a horse's final journey back to Canada.

In Le Trou Aid post we hear the story of a cricketing painter who fell victim to the wily bowling of the creator of Sherlock Holmes, a one-legged Wimbledon champion, as well as the remarkable connection between an officer of the Rifle Brigade and English literature's most famous little girl.

Recommended reading:
Vimy by Pierre Berton
The lost legions of Fromelles - Peter Barton
A visitors guide - The battles of Arras North - Jon Cooksey and Jerry Murland

Support the pod:
www.buymeacoffee.com/footstepsblog
www.patreon.com/footstepsofthefallen

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Footsteps of the fallenBy Matt Dixon

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