Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | St. Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen | S. V. H. 7. | |
| 2. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 47B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | Military Cross | ||
Family :
Son of Horace and Lucy Elizabeth Graves, of 28, Friar Gate, Derby.Education & Career :
Police Sergeant, Colombo, Ceylon (1912).
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 8/West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) |
| Action : Battle of the Canal du Nord |
The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of a general Allied offensive against German positions on the Western Front during the Hundred Days Offensive of World War I. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts of Cambrai between 27 September and 1 October 1918. To avoid the risk of having extensive German reserves massed against a single Allied attack, the assault along the Canal du Nord was undertaken as part of a number of closely sequenced Allied attacks at separate points along the Western Front. It began one day after the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one day before an offensive in the Flanders region of Belgium and two days before the Battle of St. Quentin Canal.
Detail :
Lt Horace Jocelyn Graves MC - 13th Battalion attached 8th West Yorkshires. Horace Graves was born in Derby in 1887. He was first commissioned into the 18th battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers before joining the Yorkshires. He sailed with the 13th battalion from Southampton to Le Havre on June 6th 1916. July and August of that year were spent in and out of the line in the Loos sector and in skirmishing with the enemy Lt Graves was wounded in action in late August. He was with the battalion during the Cambrai operations of late 1917 when they followed the tanks into Bourlon Wood. When the German Spring Offensive opened in March 1918 he was with the 5th battalion at St Leger and spent ten days fighting on the retreat. The 5th battalion was disbanded in May of 1918 and Lt Graves with the other officers went to the base depot at Calais. From here he was attached to the 8th Battalion of the West Yorkshire Regiment and was wounded in action with them at the Battle of the Canal du Nord in late September early October. Lt Horace Jocelyn Graves MC died of his wounds on October 14th 1918 aged 31. His grave can be visited today in St Sever Cemetery Extension in the Rue D'elboeuf. He was the son of Horace and Lucy Elizabeth Graves of 28 Friar Gate in Derby. The 'The Derby School register, 1570-1901' published in 1902 shows him as: GRAVES, Horace Jocelyn (Jan., 1896), b. 19 Jan., 1887. Son of Horace Graves, Vernon Street, Derby. Rowland Scholarship. Left 1901.
Citations & Commemorations :
[Supplement to London Gazette - 7 November 1918]T./Lt. Horace Jocelyn Graves, York. R.
For conspicuous gallantry and initiative. He took command of the company at a critical moment of the attack when the company commander had been killed, and led them forward and captured the objective. He organised a defensive flank and put the position into an excellent state of defence. His courage and leadership inspired all ranks.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Duke of Connaught No. 2940 E.C. | Sri Lanka |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
18th July 1912 | 15th August 1912 | 19th September 1912 |
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley