Rest in Peace!

The sad thing is that in 1955 his remains were recovered from an isolated grave on Chemin des Dames - Cerny en Laonnois, (See map on page 3), from which were also recovered the remains of Lance Corporal George Henry Cole. Both were commemorated on the La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial.

 

La Ferte-sous-Jouarre is a small town 66 kilometres to the east of Paris, located on the main road (N3) running east from Paris.

 

The Memorial is situated in a small park on the south-western edge of the town, on the south bank of the River Marne, just off the main road to Paris. It commemorates 3,740 officers and men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) who fell at the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the Marne and the Aisne between the end of August and early October 1914 and have no known graves.

In 1955 both Lt Birch and Lance Corporal Cole were reinterred alongside each other in the London Cemetry Extension at Longueval on the Somme.

 

Rest in Peace