STE. MARIE CEMETERY

Le Havre

Seine-Maritime

France

General Directions: Ste. Marie Cemetery is one of the town cemeteries, but it is actually situated in the commune of Graville-St. Honorine. It stands on the ridge overlooking Le Havre from the north and is north of the N.182.

During the First World War, Le Havre was one of the ports at which the British Expeditionary Force disembarked in August 1914. Except for a short interval during the German advance in 1914 it remained No 1 Base throughout the war and by the end of May 1917, it contained three general and two stationary hospitals, and four convalescent depots. The first Commonwealth burials took place in Division 14 of Ste Marie Cemetery in mid August 1914. Burials in Divisions 19, 3, 62 and 64 followed successively. A memorial in Plot 62 marks the graves of 24 casualties from the hospital ship 'Salta' and her patrol boat, sunk by a mine on 10 April 1917. The memorial also commemorates by name the soldiers, nurses and merchant seamen lost from the 'Salta' whose bodies were not recovered, and those lost in the sinking of the hospital ship 'Galeka' (mined on 28 October 1916) and the transport ship 'Normandy' (torpedoed on 25 January 1918), whose graves are not known.

Victoria Cross: Serjeant William Herbert Waring, VC, MM, 25th Bn (Montgomery and Welch Horse Yeomanry), Royal Welch Fusiliers, died of wounds 08/10/1918. Division 62. V. I. 3.

Shot at Dawn: Lance Serjeant A. Wickings, 9th Bn. Rifle Brigade, executed for murder 07/03/1918, Division 62/1/K3. Gunner F. O. Wills, 50th Trench Mortar Battery, Royal Field Artillery, executed for murder27/05/1919, Division 64/6/E5.

Further Information: The war graves within this cemetery are in 5 separate plots (4, 1914-1918 and 1, 1939-1945) scattered throughout the large communal cemetery, the two larger plots are to be found at either end of the cemetery and two smaller plots in the middle section, the other (WW2) plot can be found to the left of the cemetery upon entering through the main entrance.

More views of this cemetery and the WW2 Plot      Salta Memorial

Casualty Details: UK 1433, Canada 101, Australia 131, New Zealand 7, South Africa 14, India 3, Total Burials: 1689

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