Jerusalem War Cemetery lies in a tiny corner near the village of Chouain, near Bayeux in Normandy. After the 6 June 1944 landings it was the scene of bitter fighting as a German armoured column sought to recapture Bayeux.
Burials started on 10 June and, though it remains one of the smallest CWG Cemeteries, it is especially poignant as it contains the grave of Jack Banks, of the DLI, who, at 16, was the youngest Allied soldier to die in the landings. The local school children hold a service there every year to celebrate those who gave their lives to liberate France. I was privileged to be there to join in the ceremony during one of my WW2 lecture tours in Normandy and it remains a moving memory for me.
Remembrance of Jerusalem
Remember how I loved you once
And though my voice is gone
And footfalls soft disturb me not at all
Then Sun-stones of Jerusalem
Will waken with the Dawn
To laughter and the childrens’ happy call
Though paths we trod together
Echo to other steps, and flowers bow
All to my eyes unseen
It doesn’t really matter, for others love you still
And hold my dreams to show you now
Just how it would have been