| Additional Information: | Son of William and L. E. Armstrong, of 1 Weardale St., Wheatley Hill, Co. Durham |
| Cemetery: | CITE BONJEAN MILITARY CEMETERY, ARMENTIERES, Nord, France |
| Grave Reference/ Panel Number: |
IX. E. 53. |
| Location: | Armentieres is a town in the Department of the Nord, on the Belgian frontier, 14.5 kilometres north-west of Lille.
>From the town of Armentieres take the D945 to Estaires. Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery is signposted off this road just before Erquinghem-sur-la-Lys.
Within the cemetery will be found the Cite Bonjean (New Zealand) Memorial, which commemorates officers and men with no known grave who fell in 1916-1917 in the neighbourhood of Armentieres. |
| Historical Information: | Armentieres was occupied by the 4th Division on the 17th October, 1914, and it remained within the British lines until its evacuation of the 10th April, 1918, after a prolonged and heavy bombardment with gas shell. It was occupied by the enemy next day, and it was not recovered until the 3rd October, 1918. The Cemetery was begun (Plot IX) by British troops in October, 1914. It was used in the winter of 1914-15 for civilian burials, the cemetery at Le Bizet being too greatly exposed; the civilians are now in a separate enclosure. British Field Ambulances and units (partly the 4th, 6th, 21st, New Zealand, 17th and 57th (West Lancashire) Divisions and the Australian Corps) continued to use it until April, 1918. Plots V, VI, VII and X were then used by the Germans. In 1925, 455 German graves were removed from Plots V and VI to Illies German Cemetery. There are now over 2,000, 1914-18 and 30, 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site. The cemetery covers an area of 13,178 square metres and is enclosed by a red brick wall. |