The Vis-en-Artois Memorial is a World War I

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

located near the commune of

Vis-en-Artois Vis-en-Artois is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Vis-en-Artois is situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D939 and the D9 roads. History World War I deeply affected ...

, in the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

département of France. The memorial lists 9,843 names of British and South African soldiers with no known grave who were killed during the

Advance to Victory Advance commonly refers to: *Advance, an offensive push in sports, games, thoughts, military combat, or sexual or romantic pursuits * Advance payment for goods or services * Advance against royalties, a payment to be offset against future royalty p ...

, from 8 August 1918 to the Armistice (11 November 1918). The area of the frontline covered is described as ''"in Picardy and Artois, between the Somme and Loos"''. Canadian, Australian and New Zealand forces that fell during this period and were not found, are commemorated elsewhere on other memorials to the missing.Vis-en-Artois Memorial.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 28 December 2009.
World War I Cemeteries. Retrieved 28 December 2009. The memorial has a screen wall in three parts on which are carved the names of the missing listed by regiment. The central screen is flanked by 70-foot high columns, with a Stone of Remembrance at centre. The carvings include one representing

St George and the Dragon In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tr ...

. The memorial was designed by the architect J. R. Truelove, with sculpture by

Ernest Gillick Ernest George Gillick (19 November 1874 – 25 September 1951) was a British sculptor. Life Gillick was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, on 19 November 1874, the son of a tailor. The family moved to Nottingham, where Gillick was apprenticed as a de ...

. The memorial was unveiled on 4 August 1930 by the Rt. Hon.

Thomas Shaw Thomas Shaw is the name of: Politicians * Tom Shaw (politician) (1872–1938), British trade unionist and Labour Party politician * Thomas Shaw (Halifax MP) (1823–1893), English Liberal politician, MP for Halifax * Thomas Shaw, 1st Baron Craigmy ...

. Shaw, a Labour Party MP and cabinet minister, was present in his role as British

Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...

. Also present was General Walter Braithwaite, who had served in the Mediterranean and on the Western Front during the war.

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External links

Photographs of the cemetery and memorial
(includes the dedicatory inscription) {{World War I War Memorials in France Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials World War I memorials in France Buildings and structures completed in 1930 Monuments and memorials in the Pas-de-Calais

See also

References

External links