Terlincthun British Cemetery

Lance Corporal Oswald Dykes Riddell was killed in action during the counter attack at Champagne. His final burial location is plot XVI AA 25 at the Terlincthun British Cemetery in Wimville, Pas-de-Calais, France.

He was originally buried at the Epernay French National Cemetery. His body was exhumed and reinterred in July 1964.

According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission the first rest camps for British Commonwealth forces were established near Terlincthun in August 1914. Numerous hospitals and other medical establishments were located nearby. The cemetery was begun in Jun 1918. It was used chiefly for burials from base hospitals.

Terlincthun British Cemetery; photograph courtesy of the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

The cemetery is located a few hundred meters from the Column of the Grande Armee and the statue of Napoleon looking longingly at an un conquered Britain. It is designed so it gives the impression that the former French Emperor is watching over the graves of British Commonwealth soldiers buried there.

The optical illusion works best from behind the Stone of Remembrance and was the idea of British architect Sir Herbert Baker, who designed the cemetery in June 1918.

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"Terlincthun British Cemetery," Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Terlincthun British Cemetery
Remembrance Trails, Terlincthun British Cemetery