The national necropolis of Maroeuil

Situated in Le Mont de Sucre, south of Neuville-Saint-Vaast, the national necropolis of Maroeuil, created in 1919, contains the remains of 585 French soldiers who died in the battles of Artois between 1914 and 1918. In the centre is a monument erected in 1919 to the memory of Major Georges Lilleman of the 156th infantry regiment, killed on 9th May 1915 in La Targette and interred in the necropolis. Financed by the officer’s parents, the monument honours, with its epitaph “Brave soldiers who shed your blood for your country – we salute you”, the memory of the dead of the 156th and 160th infantry regiments, particularly Father Grosjean, a stretcher-bearer assigned as chaplain to the 156th, whose citation is a witness to the commitment of these two units: “Kept pressing his commanding officer for permission to accompany the battle assault troops on 9th May 1915. Constantly showed himself in the most dangerous places on 9th and 10th May, exhorting and encouraging his fellows, dressing the wounds of the injured, ensuring that they were picked up speedily, in a word, being a constant example of courage, good humour and charity.” (Official Journal, 2nd August 1915).

Nearby is the Maroeuil British Cemetery created by the 51st (Highland) Division, today containing the remains of 531 British servicemen, thirty Canadians and eleven Germans.