The british memorial
In the western part of Arras, the British Memorial is a silent and impressive monument. It was created in 1916 as part of the already existing French cemetery. After the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission brought in the other cemeteries in Arras to create this monument. It has 2,652 tombs within its walls.
It also commemorates 35,942 missing soldiers from the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand who did not have a known grave. Arras was at the center of the battles for the Artois coal fields and countless young men, often under the age of 18, were killed and never identified. The monument was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, one of three architects in charge of the design and construction of the British and Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries, along with Sir Herbert Baker and Sir Reginald Blomfield.
There is also a monument dedicated to the Royal Flying Corps, commemorating 991 airmen without a known grave.
WWI Cemetery Design
Where a cemetery has more than 40 graves, you will see the Cross of Sacrifice , designed by Blomfield. It is a simple cross with a broad bronze sword on its face, set on an octagonal base. When a cemetery has more than 1000 burials, there will also be a Stone of Remembrance , designed by Edwin Lutyens, to commemorate those of all faiths, and those without faith. The structure was based on the Parthenon, and was deliberately designed to keep it free in any way that might associate it with a particular religion.
British and Commonwealth cemeteries differ from their French and German counterparts in another way as well. Planting flowers and herbs became an integral part of the design. The original idea was to create a beautiful and peaceful environment for visitors. Sir Edwin Lutyens brought in Gertrude Jekyll with whom he had worked closely on other architectural projects. Taking traditional garden plants and roses as a starting point, he designed a simple yet emotional planting scheme, which brought memories of Britain to war cemeteries in France.
Then you will see floribunda roses and herbaceous perennials, as well as herbs like thyme that grow next to graves. Only dwarf varieties or low-growing plants were used, allowing the inscriptions to be seen.
Rudyard Kipling and the First World War
Another name associated with British war cemeteries is Rudyard Kipling. The writer, like many of his compatriots, was a fervent supporter of the war. So much so that he helped his son Jack enter the Irish Guard through his influence with the commander-in-chief of the British Army. Without this, Jack, who had been rejected for poor eyesight, would not have gone to war. Nor would he have been killed by a shell at the Battle of Loos two days after his recruitment. He was buried somewhere without being identified and his father began a lifelong search for his body.
But that is another story.
» If there is any question why we die
Tell them why our parents lied, ”Rudyard Kipling wrote after Jack’s death.
In response to the death of his son, Kipling became an opponent of the war. He joined the newly formed Imperial War Graves Commission (which became the Commonwealth War Graves Commission today). He selected the biblical phrase His name lives for all, which you will see in the Stones of Remembrance. He also suggested the phrase Known to God for the tombstones of unidentified soldiers.
Practical information
British Memorial Cemetery
Faubourg d’Amiens
Blvd. du General de Gaulle Dawn
open until dusk
More WWI memorials in the region
With the worst of WWI in this part of France, you pass endless military cemeteries small and large, their graves in precise military style. There are also French and German cemeteries here, which have a very different feel to them, as well as large American and Canadian monuments and cemeteries.
- The Great War Museum of World War I
- American WWI Memorials
- Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge
- Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
- French National War Cemetery at Notre-Dame-de-Lorette
- The World War I German Rest Camp Moreau in Champagne
