THE T&A recently featured a book by David Crossland which explores the little known First World War legacy of graffiti and cave carvings.
The Whispering Walls - First World War Graffiti (Amberley Publishing) features Bradford's Samuel Meekosha, who wrote his name on a cave wall near the Western Front.
“His Victoria Cross was already part of his identity,” writes David. “His proud inscription ‘Sgt S Meekosha VC 46th West Yorks’ was discovered in 2015 in catacombs under the village of Naours, north of Amiens in north eastern France. Like each of the more than 3,200 names scribbled by First World War soldiers there, it tells a story.
“The Victoria Cross thrust this brave man, described as modest and private, into the limelight. He was awarded it by King George V in Buckingham Palace for risking his life to save comrades while under German shellfire near Ypres in 1915.
“Meekosha was splashed on the front page of the Bradford Weekly Telegraph under the headline ‘Bradford Man of the Week.’ It ran photos of him and his mother and sisters at their home in West Bowling.
“Meekosha survived the war. Of course, scores of comrades who wrote on the walls of Naours and hundreds of other caves in France did not. They include Australian Antarctic explorer Leslie Russell Blake, a peer of Scott and Shackleton who survived daring reconnaissance missions into No Man’s Land but was killed by a shell six weeks before the Armistice. And Alister Ross, a Scot who emigrated to Australia in 1912, joined the Australian army and was saved at Gallipoli by the Bible in his breast pocket that stopped two pieces of shrapnel heading for his heart. Sadly, his luck ran out on the Somme in August 1916.
“Many of the inscriptions at Naours look as fresh today as they were over a century ago. The soldiers, far from home, knew it might be their last trace. Their names ring out with the question: “Will I make it?”
This month a group from Bradford World War 1 Group travelled to France to visit military battlefields and cemeteries - and the network of caves at Naours, one of an estimated 400 underground sites in north east France containing significant amounts of WW1 graffiti by soldiers on both sides.
Most are quarries dug centuries ago to mine limestone for houses, barns and churches. During the First World War the labyrinths of tunnels were used by all armies as shelters, field hospitals and command posts.
Tricia Restorick, of Bradford Mechanics Institute, was on this month’s trip to France. She said: “We stayed in Arras for three nights and Ypres for two nights. Highlights included the ‘Subterranean City’, an extensive network of caves at Naours which date back to medieval times, but were used in WW1 to shelter troops of both sides.
“Of particular significance for Bradfordians, among the hundreds of soldiers’ names scratched into the soft chalk walls, is that of Sam Meekosha VC who served with the Bradford Territorials. A couple of days later we visited the fields north of Ypres where his act of great courage saved the lives of several men in his platoon.”
The group also attended the annual French commemoration at Serre Road and placed a poppy wreath on behalf of the Lord Mayor at the Bradford Pals memorial. The stone was funded by the T&A’s Honour the Pals appeal which raised £5,485, with match funding by Bradford Council. Bradford WW1 Group organised the inscription, transportation and installation of the 1.5 ton stone, donated by Fagley Quarries, and it was unveiled at a ceremony in November 2016, commemorating the centenary of the end of the Battle of the Somme.
“The Parade Marshall, Xavier Deneuville, was very pleased to welcome us once again,” said Tricia, who was invited to pronounce the exhortation at the stone of sacrifice in Serre Road No. 1 Cemetery at the start of the commemoration event.
“The other half of the group, under the expert guidance of Nick Hooper, walked the front line of July 1, 1916 and visited the myriad of small battlefield burials around Sheffield Memorial Park. The grave of Sheffield Pal, Alf Goodlad, is especially poignant. He told his father in a letter: ‘The French are worth fighting for’ - words now inscribed on his headstone.
“A wreath was also placed at the Bradford Pals memorial plaque in the village of Hébuterne, where the Pals spent the harsh winter of 1916-17 billeted in farm buildings and tents.
“There was time to visit cemeteries of particular importance to party members. Stewart Smith, a Bradford man who now lives in Galloway, placed a Yorkshire rose on the grave of James Christy, his great uncle, who served with the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and was 33 when he died in 1918.”
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