ARTICLE: One Village, Four Years of War

British, French, Germans and Italians at Soupir

I first visited Soupir, 25m northwest of Reims and down on the Aisne, way back when I was researching my book on Old Etonians in the First World War. That’s men who attended Eton College, the same school as Prince William and his brother who wouldn’t want to be named because he’s all about the privacy. That stop about a decade ago was to look at 1914, but last week, I went back to have a more in depth poke about, having found a lot more than I bargained for about one sleepy village...

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Prior to the First World War, Soupir had a population of about 400 people. The Mayor, Monsieur Jules Charlier was a 58-year-old-farmer; the local priest, Henri Delfolie was 42. There was a local chateau inhabited by an old lady known as “Marie Boursin." There was a baker, a grocer, some cafés; whilst a blacksmith, a saddler, a joiner, and a cooper all provided nearby farmers may need. Then, this bucolic existence was obliterated by war. In 1914, after the miracle on the Marne, the Allies pursued the Germans back to the River Aisne, which flows past the bottom of the village, and for the inhabitants, their nightmare began.

1914: The British Pass Through

The 2nd Grenadier Guards were at Wellington Barracks, on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace when war was declared. Having been mobilised, they were out on a route march in London the day before their departure when they passed the gates of the palace on their way home. Quite by chance, King George V and Queen Mary wandered down to watch them pass by. Leading his platoon was ‘Jack’ Pickersgill-Cunliffe. The only son of a gentleman from Huntingdonshire, he was less than a year out of Sandhurst and only two out of Eton. Not yet 20, bright, and with a permanent smile on his face, he saluted proudly and was captured by a photographer as the battalion passed the King, who returned their salute. A month later, Jack was leading a patrol into Soupir.

Behind his men, Jack exchanges a salute with the King outside Buckingham Palace.