honour21

T GARBETT
Private
9135
5th Bn., South Staffordshire Regiment
who died on
Wednesday, 5th May 1915. Age 28.
Additional Information: Husband of A. Arblaster (formerly Garbett), of New House, New Cross St., King's Hill, Wednesbury, Staffs.

Commemorative Information
Cemetery: ST.-QUENTIN CABARET MILITARY CEMETERY, Heuvelland, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium
Grave Reference/
Panel Number: I. G. 16.

Location: St Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery is located 10.5 Km south of Ieper town centre, on a road leading from the Rijselseweg N365, which connects Ieper to Wijtschate, Mesen (Messines) and on to Armentieres. From Ieper town centre the Rijselsestraat runs from the market square, through the Lille Gate (Rijselpoort) and directly over the crossroads with the Ieper ring road. The road name then changes to the Rijselseweg. On reaching Mesen the first right hand turn leads onto Mesenstraat towards the village of Wulvergem. In the village of Wulvergem the first left hand turning leads onto Sint Kwintenstraat. 200 metres along Sint Kwintenstraat on the left hand side of the road lies the cemetery.

Historical Information: St. Quentin Cabaret was an inn about 460 metres East of Kandahar Farm, on the South side of the road from Neuve-Eglise to Messines. It was used at times as Battalion Headquarters. The Cemetery was begun in February, 1915, by the 46th (North Midland) Division (Plot I, Rows E and F), and it continued to be used by the Divisions holding the sector. There are now over 450, 1914-18 war casualties commemorated in this site. The cemetery covers an area of 4,644 square metres and is enclosed by a low rubble wall

WILLIAM GARBETT
Corporal
R/12254
"D" Coy. 8th Bn., King's Royal Rifle Corps
who died on
Thursday, 24th August 1916. Age 32.
Additional Information: Son of Thomas and Mary Garbett, of I, Cross Row, John St.; husband of Ellen Garbett, of 235, Cannock Rd., Chadsmoor, Cannock, Staffs.

Commemorative Information
Memorial: THIEPVAL MEMORIAL, Somme, France
Grave Reference/
Panel Number: Pier and Face 13 A and 13 B

Location: The Thiepval Memorial will be found on the D73, off the main Bapaume to Albert road (D929).

Historical Information: On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, thirteen divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July. Attacks north and east continued throughout October and into November in increasingly difficult weather conditions. The Battle of the Somme finally ended on 18 November with the onset of winter. In the spring of 1917, the German forces fell back to their newly prepared defences, the Hindenburg Line, and there were no further significant engagements in the Somme sector until the Germans mounted their major offensive in March 1918. The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916. The memorial also serves as an Anglo-French Battle Memorial in recognition of the joint nature of the 1916 offensive and a small cemetery containing equal numbers of Commonwealth and French graves lies at the foot of the memorial. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 31 July 1932. The dead of other Commonwealth countries who died on the Somme and have no known graves are commemorated on national memorials elsewhere.