Compared
with later battles, Mons was a small-scale affair, and casualties were relatively
few. Most of the dead are buried at the military cemeteries at Hautrage
and Saint-Symphorien. The latter is today a pleasant suburb of Mons.
The cemetery there was begun by German units, burying their own casualties
and those of their foe in adjacent areas. It was for most of the war a considerable
distance from the fighting, but was used again when the British advanced
here in late 1918. The cemetery is arranged on a number of levels, with
many trees forming glades around the grave plots. It is a unique and very
attractive place.
German
graves can be seen here behind the Commonwealth War Graves Commission stones.
Unusually in a German cemetery, individuals have their own grave. They are
buried in Regimental plots, with grave stones which are different patterns
for each unit. 220 British soldiers are buried here.
This
circular plot contains many graves of the 4th Middlesex, a battalion commemorated
by the central pillar which was erected by the German Army in recognition
of the staunch defence of the British unit. The German, or possibly French,
stone mason referred to them as the Royal Middlesex, a forgivable mistake.
As
in all cemeteries on the Western Front, there are notable men buried here.
This stone marks the grave of Lt Maurice Dease, who commanded the machine
guns at Nimy - and who along with Private Sam Godley, was awarded the Victoria
Cross for his exploits there. He died on the battlefield on 23rd August
1914. Nearby are the graves of Private G. Ellison, who died on 11th November
1918; Major William Abell of the 4th Middlesex, the first British officer
to be killed in action in the war, and the Hon. Fergus Forbes, son of the
7th Earl of Granard - one of countless members of the British aristocracy
who would die during the Great War.
