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To: Minutemen
The headstones of 42 British soldiers who fell in combat in the First World War have been desecrated in what police in northern France believe may have been the work of Islamist attackers.

So the ROP is now attacking soldiers dead for over 70 years...? One has to admire their courage... /sarcasm

5 posted on 08/03/2005 1:17:17 PM PDT by konaice
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To: konaice

Some info on the cemetary. What is odd is that this is a small Commonwealth War Graves Cemetary likely to be mostly known to locals in a rural area where there are few Muslims:

The village of Bailleul-sire-Bethoult is 8 kilometres north-east of Arras and the Cemetery is west of the village.

Bailleul-Sire-Berthoult was occupied by the 2nd Division on 13 April 1917 and Albuera Cemetery was made in April-November 1917 by fighting units; the origin of its current name is not known and it was often called Bailleul Military Cemetery. The cemetery was enlarged after the Armistice when graves were brought in from the battlefields of Arras. It is divided into two plots, called (exceptionally) North and South. Albuera Cemetery contains 253 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 110 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to 15 casualties known to be buried among them. The cemetery also contains one German war grave.

To personalize the event here is a thumbnail sketch of one of the British fallen buried there:

JOHN JAMES




John served as:

25207 Private James J.

North Staffordshire Regiment.

He was later transferred to the East Yorkshire Regiment as 18965 Private James J, (a not unusual practice throughout the war).

The 1891 Census shows that the James family consisted of Father, Mother and three daughters living at Cheadle Rd. John's date of birth is not known.

In early May 1917 the 10th Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment were engaged in the "follow on" offensive to the April Battle of ARRAS. On May 3rd John was killed and buried with other members of his battalion in ALBUERA Cemetery, BAILLEUL-SIR-BERTHOULT, a village 5 miles north-east of the city of ARRAS.


17 posted on 08/03/2005 1:33:38 PM PDT by robowombat
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To: konaice

The mujahedeen are a brave bunch. That's all they have the guts to attack, dead people. They hide like cowards the rest of the time, too ashamed to show their faces.


23 posted on 08/03/2005 2:55:20 PM PDT by Nathan Zachary
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