Twenty seven officers and men who were killed while serving

with the British forces during the First World War are buried or

commemorated at Néry Communal Cemetery. A vault stands

on the west side of the cemetery, in which are buried three

officers who fell during the action at Néry on the morning of 1

September 1914 and a fourth (brother of one of the three) who

was killed in 1918. A Special Memorial in the north-west

quarter, records the names of 12 men of L Battery, Royal Horse

Artillery, who were killed or fatally wounded during the

same engagement.

The Action at NéryIn the aftermath of the Battle of Mons, which took place on 23

August 1914, the British forces, along with their French allies,

began retreating south west toward Paris. By the evening of 31

August, the British forces had crossed the Aisne between

Soissons and Compiègne and halted for the night on the south

banks of the river. The men of the 1st Cavalry Brigade

bivouacked in and around the village of Néry with orders to

begin moving again at first light. The brigade numbered almost

2,000 men and consisted of three cavalry regiments which were

supported by L Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery. The cavalry

were stationed in Néry while L Battery was billeted in a sugar

factory just south of the village.

A heavy mist hung in the valley and visibility was poor as the sun

rose on 1 September. The brigade had risen at 4.30 am but a

decision was made to delay departure for an hour and a half

until the weather cleared. As they waited, officers and men

busied themselves watering the horses and preparing breakfast.

At approximately 5.30 am a unit of the 11th Hussars which had

been patrolling the woods outside Néry dashed into the village

and reported the sighting of a large enemy force. Just minutes

after the patrol arrived on the scene, the brigade came under

heavy shell, machine gun and rifle fire from the heights

overlooking the village to the east.

The attack caught the brigade almost completely by surprise and

the effect of intense fire from above the village was devastating.

The horses of L Battery bolted and several gunners were killed

or wounded as they tried to take cover. Despite the chaos

caused by the attack, Captain Edward Bradbury immediately

began issuing orders and managed to get three of the battery’s

six guns moved into firing positions. Two of these were soon put

out of action by German shell fire, but Bradbury, along with

Sergeant David Nelson and two gunners, manned a third gun

and kept up a steady rate of fire against the German positions.

The gun continued firing for over two hours, and successfully

drew German artillery fire away from the British cavalry. The

brigade was able to hold its position and engage the attackers

until reinforcements from III Corps arrived and forced the

German units on the heights to retreat.

The German force that launched the attack at Néry amounted

to over 5,000 men of the 4th Cavalry Division and thus

outnumbered the 1st Cavalry Brigade by more than two to one.

Almost all of the men of L Battery were killed during the

fighting, but casualties in the rest of the brigade were relatively

light. Captain Bradbury was fatally wounded while fetching

ammunition and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.

Sergeant Major George Dorrell and Sergeant Nelson both

survived the fighting and were also awarded VCs. In recognition

of their bravery and service, the Commander-in-Chief of the

BEF, Sir John French, formally mentioned the men of the brigade

in despatches on 14 September.

The Commission is responsible for the commemoration of almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who gave their lives in the two world wars. The graves and memorials of these men and

women, who came from all parts of the Commonwealth and who were of many faiths and of none, are found around the globe in 153 countries. For more information about the Commission, our work and how

to search our records online visit www.cwgc.org Enquiries are also welcome at our offices: CWGC Head Office Tel: + 44 (0) 1628 507200

E-mail: casualty.enq@cwgc.org CWGC France Office Tel: + 33 (0) 3 21 21 77 00 E-mail: france.area@cwgc.org

Néry Communal Cemetery

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

For more information about this location

and some of those commemorated here,

scan the QR code (right).

“L Battery, R.H.A.”, depicting the unit in action at Néry, 1 September, 1914, painting

by Fortunino Matania

“L Battery, R.H.A.”, illustrant l’unité au combat à Néry, 1er septembre 1914, tableau de

Fortunino Matania

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