Le Quesnoy

The orders: “The New Zealand Rifle Brigade will mop up Le Quesnoy”

ZERO Hour: 05.30

A hot meal was served during the early hours of the 4th.

Attack was launched in the morning. The outer wall was stormed, and while the guns were breaching the inner citadel some of the New Zealand battalions swept around the outskirts of the town and charged the enemy guns. An aeroplane dropped a message summoning them to surrender, and a New Zealand officer entered the breach, and by word of mouth invited the German garrison to come out.

The taking of Le Quesnoy was the last major action of the New Zealand Division.

A week later the Armistice was signed and the war was at an end.

Taken altogether the 4th of November was probably the most successful day for the New Zealand Division during the war.

This list includes those who are buried at Le Quesnoy Communal Cemetery and Romeries Communal Cemetery Extension in addition to others identified as being involved in the conflict.

The 194 records that include a reference to "NZEF CASUALTIES - LE QUESNOY", as noted in the Appendix of Dr Christopher Pugsley’s book: Le Quesnoy 1918: New Zealand’s Last Battle, was compiled by Richard Stowers and Herb Farrant, and added to by Christopher Pugsley. Please forward any additional names and details to the author through Oratia Media. The portion of the list covers period 1–7 November 1918 and those who died after from wounds received in this period.

The Le Quesnoy Campaign research was undertaken by the New Zealand Society of Genealogists as part of the development of New Zealand Liberation Museum - Te Arawhata (Le Quesnoy France). This research project was led by CJ Barbour (NZSG), BI Silvester, HH Farrant (NZMHS) with the support of NZSG volunteers (2022). The individuals included in this research data set were verified as serving in Le Quesnoy.

Sources:

The Official History of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade by W.S. Austin, 1924.

"The Capture of Le Quesnoy", New Zealand War Graves Project.

Armistice Day. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 6 November 2015.

McDonald, W. (2013). Honours and Awards to the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Great War, 1914-1918. (3rd ed.). Hamilton, N.Z.: Richard Stowers

Pugsley, C. (2018). Le Quesnoy, 1918 : New Zealand's Last Battle. Auckland, New Zealand : Oratia.

Results

Record ID	Family name	First names	Force	Wars	Service #
C848	Bates	George	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	1/342, 24/345
C853	Bates	William	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	69395
C105089	Baxter	Frederick William	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	62197
C38138	Baxter	James Neil	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	2/2057
C105148	Bayley	George John	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	52776
C83889	Beacock	John Arthur	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	33508
C105664	Beale	Clarence Clutterbuck	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	57701
C107472	Beattie	David	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	68369
C922	Beattie	Percival Moore	Navy	World War I, 1914-1918	38797
C942	Beaurepaire	Louis Isidore	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	74852
C132204	Beck	Alan Derek	Navy	World War II, 1939-1945	C5226, 5226, 100076, C/5226
C105170	Beck	Robert	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	68876
C36208	Beere	Rawdon St John	Army	World War I, 1914-1918, World War II, 1939-1945	1/040, 24/3
C105340	Belk	Albert James	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	69460
C105651	Bell	John	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	36254
C1007	Bell	Thomas	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	6/1464
C105502	Bell	Thomas Henry	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	65587
C71247	Bell	William Leslie	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	14561
C35711	Bell	William Sunday	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	70134
C105665	Bennett	Arthur Leslie	Army	World War I, 1914-1918	57645

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The development of the Online Cenotaph is an ongoing process; updates, new images and records are added weekly. In some cases, records have yet to be confirmed by Museum staff, and there could be mistakes or omissions in the information provided.