Country
France
Locality
Nord
Identified Casualties
696
Visiting Information
Wheelchair access with some difficulty. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our enquiries department on telephone number 01628 634221.
Local Information
Busigny is a village about 10 kilometres south-west of Le Cateau and 24 kilometres north-east of St. Quentin. The Communal Cemetery and Extension are a short distance west of the village on the south side of the road to Bertry.
Historical Information
Busigny was captured by the 30th American Division and British cavalry on 9 October 1918, in the Battle of Cambrai, and in the course of the next two months the 48th, 37th and 12th Casualty Clearing Stations came successively to the village. The majority of the burials were made from these three hospitals. The cemetery extension was begun in October 1918, and used until February 1919. After the Armistice it was enlarged when graves were brought into Plots II-VII of graves from a wide area between Cambrai and Guise. The following cemeteries were concentrated into it:- ANDIGNY-LES-FERMES BRITISH CEMETERY, VAUX-ANDIGNY, on the North side of the hamlet of Andigny-les-Fermes. This place was taken by the 46th (North Midland) Division and the 1st Loyal North Lancashire Regiment on the 17th October, 1918, and the cemetery contained the graves of 16 soldiers of the latter unit. BUSIGNY CHURCHYARD, from which the grave of one soldier from the United Kingdom was removed in 1927 to VIII. B 56. BUSIGNY COMMUNAL CEMETERY, which contained the graves of 13 soldiers from the United Kingdom and eight from Australia, all artillerymen, who fell in October, 1918. ESNES CHURCHYARD, which contained the graves of one soldier from the United Kingdom and three from New Zealand who fell in October, 1918. MAGNY LA FOSSE CHURCHYARD, which contained the graves of 19 soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in October and November, 1918. MARETZ BRITISH CEMETERY, at the South-Western end of the village of Maretz, made by the 1st/8th Worcesters on the 11th October, 1918, and containing the graves of 16 soldiers from the United Kingdom. MOLAIN CHURCHYARD, which contained the graves of three soldiers from the United Kingdom who fell in October and November, 1918. MONTRECOURT CHURCHYARD, which contained the graves of two artillerymen from the United Kingdom who fell in October, 1918. RIQUERVAL BRITISH CEMETERY, BOHAIN-EN-VERMANDOIS, in Riquerval Wood, close to the Bohain-Regnicourt road. This cemetery contained the graves of 35 soldiers from the United Kingdom (almost all of the 46th Division) who fell on the 17th October, 1918. ROCQ CHURCHYARD, which contained the grave of one Notts & Derby Regiment soldier who fell in October, 1918. Busigny Communal Cemetery Extension contains 670 First World War burials, 64 of them unidentified. The extension was designed by Charles Holden.