THREE MEN IN AN AUDI
‘East and west on fields forgotten….
None that go return again.’
A E Housman A Shropshire Lad
After the Delhi Day celebrations held at Shorncliffe ; Nigel Haynes ,William Shuttlewood and John Harrop armed with a copy of Regimental History Volume II slipped under the Channel to make for the flat and dreary country that surrounds the village of Neuve Chapelle. The aim of the excursion was to visit the site of the 2nd Battalion action at Neuve Chapelle in 1915, the Indian Memorial plus other cemeteries with the
graves of regimental casualties as well as attend the Menin Gate ceremony and to visit cemeteries located around Ypres.
The 2nd Battalion’s contribution in the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915 was discussed as features referred to in the text and contemporary maps were identified and salutary deductions made. The impressive and dignified Indian Memorial is located close by and respects were made to those 2nd Goorkhas named on the circular wall – which shares the same acoustic properties found in the Whispering Gallery at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The Indian Memorial at Neuve Chapelle
John Harrop and Nigel Haynes examining the names on the Indian Memorial
The Menin Gate was shrouded in scaffolding as part of a restoration project which made it impossible to identify most of the 54,000 names (including those from 1GR and 4GR), but the Last Post ceremony was extremely well attended. A day was spent visiting the Commonwealth cemetery at Tyne Cot for the Battle of Passchendaele and for comparison the German cemetery at Langemark as well as the fascinating museum at Hill 62.
The grave of 3424 Rifleman Ranu Thapa, 2nd Battalion 2nd KEO Gurkha Rifles, at Rue du Bacquerot No.1 Military Cemetery. He was killed on 20 December 1914 in the battles that took place from 10-21 December at La Quinque Rue in which one British Officer and 29 other ranks were killed, 40 were wounded and 62 missing and a further 24 evacuated with frostbite.
The tranquillity of every Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery and the simple gravestones with their defunct cap badges of those who made the final sacrifice in such horrific and unimaginable circumstances never fail to give cause for reflection.
JRH
Nigel Haynes in a thoughtful Churchillian pose at Tyne Cot