George McElroy

The Canton of Laventie was one of the 14 cantons of the arrondissement of Béthune, in the Pas-de-Calais department, in northern France. It had 18,792 inhabitants in 2012. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015.

Laventie (French pronunciation: ​[lavɑ̃ti]; West Flemish: Wentie) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Sailly-sur-la-Lys (French pronunciation: ​[saji syʁ la lis], literally Sailly on the Lys; West Flemish: Zelleken) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

The Rue-du-Bois Military Cemetery is a World War I cemetery located in the commune of Fleurbaix, in the Pas-de-Calais departement of France, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) southwest of the village of Fleurbaix on the D171 road (rue Louis Bouquet), just before the hamlet of Pétillon. Of the 845 graves, 395 are of unknown soldiers.

The Le Trou Aid Post Cemetery is a World War I cemetery located in the commune of Fleurbaix, in the Pas-de-Calais departement of France, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of the village of Fleurbaix on the D175 road (rue de Pétillon).British soldiers of the 19th Infantry Brigade made the earliest burials at the site in October 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. By the end of the war, the cemetery contained 123 graves. This number nearly tripled after a postwar consolidation of war burial sites, when Le Trou Aid Post was expanded by the architect Sir Herbert Baker.Described as one of Baker's most sentimental works, the rural site is surrounded by a narrow moat and sheltered by a grove of weeping willows. Visitors approach over a footbridge and enter through a delicate cottage-style gateway.The cemetery contains more than 350 graves, and over two hundred are unidentified. The dead represent the battlefields of Ypres, Le Maisnil (October 1914), Aubers Ridge (May 1915), Loos (September–October 1915), and Fromelles (July 1916).

Fleurbaix (French pronunciation: ​[flœʁbɛ]; West Flemish: Vloerbeek) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

The V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War I cemetery and memorial. The site is located in the commune of Fromelles, in the Nord departement of France, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northwest of the village of Fromelles on the D22C road (rue Delval).

Steenwerck (French pronunciation: ​[stɛ̃vɛʁk]; Dutch: Steenwerk) is a commune, in French Flanders, in the Nord department in northern France. It is located about 25 km (16 mi) north of Lille and in 2013 had a population of 3519. People from Steenwerck are known as Steenwerckois. It is home to Steenwerck's 100 km à pied race event, which mainly features a 100 km (62 mi) marathon, although most local residents prefer to merely walk one lap (roughly 22 kilometres (14 mi)). Steenwerck also has its own festival giant, as is the tradition in the Nord Department, which is named Totor and is one of the tallest, measuring 5.70 m (18.7 ft). Other places of interest include the Museum of Rural Life as well as three Commonwealth war cemeteries, and a German war cemetery, of the First World War.

Aubers (French pronunciation: ​[obɛʁ]) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Lille. The parish church is dedicated to St Vaast. It was the site of a major World War I battle, the Battle of Aubers, during 1915. Aubers is twinned with the English town of Wadhurst.

Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery is a First World War cemetery built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the outskirts of Fromelles in northern France, near the Belgian border. Constructed between 2009 and 2010, it was the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery for more than 50 years, the last such cemeteries having been built after the Second World War. The cemetery contains the graves of 250 British and Australian soldiers who died on 19 July 1916 in the Battle of Fromelles. The bodies were discovered following historical research that included analysis of aerial photographs showing the presence of mass graves on the edge of Pheasant Wood (Bois Faisan), just outside the village of Fromelles. The presence of the bodies was confirmed in May 2008, and the bodies were recovered during excavation work in 2009. A specially convened Identification Board published a report on 17 March 2010 announcing the first 75 bodies to have been successfully identified using DNA analysis. Further identification continued until at least 2014. In parallel with the recovery and identification projects, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission was asked by the British and Australian governments to construct a new cemetery to house the bodies. Building work on the cemetery began in May 2009, and the main structural elements were completed by January 2010. The dead soldiers were reburied with full military honours in a series of funeral services in January and February 2010. The ceremonial first reburial took place on 30 January 2010. Following this period of reburials, topsoil was added to the cemetery, and the horticultural elements planted and allowed to grow into place. One final reburial took place as part of the cemetery's dedication ceremony, which was held on 19 July 2010 to mark the 94th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles.

Erquinghem-Lys (French pronunciation: ​[ɛʁkɛ̃ɡɛm lis]) (Erkegem an de Leie in West Flemish) is a commune situated in the Nord department in northern France.It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Erquinghem is one of a series of villages on the river Lys established by the Viking Rikiwulf in 880 AD at the time of the invasion led by Godfrid, Duke of Frisia: Racquinghem, Reclinghem, Rekkem and Rijkegem (the latter two now in West Flanders - Belgium). Erquinghem-Lys has been twinned with Skipton, North Yorkshire, England since 24 October 2009.

Fromelles (pronounced [fʁɔmɛl]) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. As of 2019 it had a population of 1,041; its inhabitants are called Fromellois. It is located about 16 kilometres (10 mi) to the west of Lille.