Driver
835218
"A" Bty. 242nd Bde., Royal Field Artillery
who died on
Friday, 20th April 1917.
Additional Information: Brother of Mr. S. Garbett, of 6, Sherbourne Avenue, Sherbourne Rd., Balsall Heath, Birmingham.
Commemorative Information
Cemetery: ST. PIERRE CEMETERY, AMIENS, Somme, France
Grave Reference/
Panel Number: VII. C. 6.
Location: St. Pierre Cemetery is situated on the north-eastern outskirts of Amiens, on the northern side of the main road to Albert. At the back of the cemetery is the Commonwealth Plot.
Historical Information: During part of August, 1914, Amiens was the British Advanced Base. It was captured by the Germans on the 31st of that month, and retaken by the French on the following 13th September. The German offensive which began in March, 1918, had Amiens for at least one of its objectives; but the "Battle of Amines" (8th to 11th August, 1918) is the British name for the action by which the counter-offensive, the Advance to Victory, was begun. The 7th General Hospital was at Amiens in August, 1914; the 56th (South Midland) Casualty Clearing Station from April to July, 1916; the New Zealand Stationary Hospital from July, 1916, to May, 1917; the 42nd Stationary Hospital from October, 1917, to March, 1919; and the 41st Stationary Hospital in March, 1918, and again in December, 1918, and January, 1919. The British Plot was first used in September, 1915, and closed in October, 1919; but shortly after 33 graves of 1918 were brought in from positions in or near the city. During the 1939-45 War Amiens was again a British base, and G.H.Q. reserve was accommodated in the area South-West of the town. There was heavy fighting in and around Amiens when the Germans broke through the Somme line and took the town on May 18th, 1940. Much damage was done, but although all the houses to the West of the cathedral were completely destroyed by the bombardment, the cathedral itself and the church of St. Germain l'Ecossais survived. Amiens was retaken by the British Second Army on August 31st, 1944. British General Hospitals Nos. 25 and 121 were posted there in October 1944, remaining until April 1945. There are now over 750, 1914-18 and nearly 100, 1939-45 war casualties commemorated in this site. One of the graves from the 1914-18 War, the site of which is now lost, is represented by a special memorial. The British Plot covers an area of 3,774 square metres.
ARTHUR GARBETT
Private
2129822
Pioneer Corps
who died on
Friday, 4th December 1942. Age 22.
Additional Information: Son of Thomas and Polly Garbett, of Castleford, Yorkshire.
Commemorative Information
Memorial: MEDJEZ-EL-BAB MEMORIAL, Tunisia
Grave Reference/
Panel Number: Face 38.
Location: Medjez-el-Bab is 60 kilometres west of Tunis. Medjez-el-Bab War Cemetery, in which the Memorial stands, is situated 3 kilometres west of Medjez-el-Bab on the road to Le Kef (Route P5). The Medjez-el-Bab Memorial commemorates those of the First Army who died during the operations in Algeria and Tunisia between 8 November 1942 and 19 February 1943, and those of the First and Eighth Armies who died in operations in the same areas between 20 February 1943 and 13 May 1943, and who have no known graves. The memorial consisting of two pergolas, one at each end of a long wall, is situated on a raised terrace at the rear of the cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice stands centrally on this terrace and behind it on the wall an inscription in English reads: "On this famous battleground of the ancient world two armies converged from the west and the east in the year 1943 to set free North Africa and make open the way for the assault upon Southern Europe." On the piers and walls of the pergolas are inscribed the names of those lost in the campaign in North-West Africa and who have no known grave, and on each pergola is inscribed in English the following: 1939 - 1945 THIS MEMORIAL BEARS THE NAMES OF THE SOLDIERS OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AND EMPIRE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES WHILE SERVING IN THE FIRST AND EIGHTH ARMIES IN ALGERIA AND TUNISIA AND HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE. The British sailors lost during the landings and the British and Commonwealth airmen killed in this campaign, who also have no known graves, are commemorated on memorials to their own services; the sailors on the port memorials at home and the airmen on the Malta Air Forces Memorial.
Historical Information: The Medjez-el-Bab Memorial commemorates those of the First Army who died during the operations in Algeria and Tunisia between 8 November 1942 and 19 February 1943, and those of the First and Eighth Armies who died in operations in the same areas between 20 February 1943 and 13 May 1943, and who have no known graves. The British sailors lost during the landings and the British and Commonwealth airmen killed in this campaign, who also have no known graves, are commemorated on memorials to their own services; the sailors on the port memorials at home and the airmen on the Malta Air Forces Memorial. There are 1954, 1939-1945 war casualties commemorated here.