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The Killing of the Iron Twelve
The Killing of the Iron Twelve by Hedley Malloch Written by Hedley Malloch, this meticulously researched account, grippingly and vividly recounts the events and fate of the soldiers on the run and the French civilians who helped them. The story is one of dramatic...
Torn Apart
Torn Apart, a novel by David Arrowsmith This novel, based on the Iron12 story, is available from Amazon in paperback and Kindle Edition. The central character, Charlie, depicts Fred Innocent, one of the soldiers executed as a spy by the Germans on February 25th,...
M Chalandre, if you know the Iron 12 story, was the mill owner who helped shelter the eleven Allied soldiers trapped behind enemy lines and kept them safe from the occupying Germans. In February 1915, their luck ran out. They were betrayed, tried and the eleven soldiers and M. Chalndre were executed. The soldiers were eventually buried in a Commonwealth War Grave in Guise cemetery. We eventually discovered the unmarked mill owner’s grave, coincidentally nearby to that of the soldiers’ graves. His was a pauper’s grave. This was such an ignominious end for someone who had bravely, and selflessly, given up their life to help others. Some of the Iron Memorial funds we raised paid for a headstone with an inscription which belatedly recognised M. Chalandre for what he did.
The original gravestone plaques are shown below. Twelve years later, the elements have taken their toll and the gold lettering is faded, and in some places, missing. We have decided to spend a further sum to bring back M. Chalandre’s headstone to its former glory. This will be one of the final acts of the Iron Memorial Fund, but more about that in future posts.
The original gravestone plaques are shown below. Twelve years later, the elements have taken their toll and the gold lettering is faded, and in some places, missing. We have decided to spend a further sum to bring back M. Chalandre’s headstone to its former glory. This will be one of the final acts of the Iron Memorial Fund, but more about that in future posts.
Wishing a happy new year to everyone from the Iron Memorial Fund. Watch this space for some exciting news about the future of the memorials and plaques of the Iron 12.
The Chairman of the Iron Memorial Fund, Hedley Malloch, writes: This weekend on behalf of the Fund, I laid wreaths on the CWGs of the eleven soldiers at the civilian cemetery in Guise. A poppy wreath was laid on the Iron 12 memorial in the centre of the village of Iron and a floral tribute on the monument aux morts. M. Willemain, mayor of Iron, read the message from Memory Central in Paris, then everyone retired to the Salle des Fêtes for cake and champagne which was very welcome after the moving and solemn business of the wreath laying.
On the eve of Rembrance Sunday, we think of my wife’s maternal family, the Innocents, who all did their bit towards the war effort. The family eldest was Royal Munster Fusiliers soldier, Fred Innocent. On February 25th 1915, Fred was executed by the Germans along with eleven others. His younger brother, Jack, who was with the Berkshire Regiment, was injured in action, captured and he spent the rest of the First World War suffering greatly as a POW in Hameln. Sister, Laura, swapped lace making, for shell making in the newly created armament factory near the family home on Sneinton, Nottingham. Although Fred's death was shockingly unusual, the war efforts of the Innocent family were repeated countless times in other families who made supreme sacrifices. We will always be grateful.