Monument au soldat Marche
Monument
Monument au soldat Marche, located in Bully-les-Mines (Pas-de-Calais), is a modern edifice built in the 19th-20th centuries. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Modern (19th-20th century)
- Location
- Bully-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 50.4470, 2.7192
- Mérimée Reference
- PA62000113
In Bully-les-Mines, this sober Art Deco monument pays tribute to Fernand Marche, a miner-soldier who died a hero's death in 1916 - a poignant symbol of the dual condition of worker and combatant in the Pas-de-Calais coalfield.
History
In the heart of Bully-les-Mines, in the Pas-de-Calais department, the Monument to soldier Marche stands out as one of the most moving reminders of the working and military memory of the Nord coalfield. Erected at the initiative of the Compagnie des Mines de Béthune in 1925, it celebrates the figure of Fernand Marche, a local child, a coal miner who became a soldier in the Great War. Far from the large monuments to the dead in town hall squares, this work has a rare singularity: it honours an individual, a man of the people, whose sacrifice was officially recognised by the State six years after his death. What makes this monument truly unique is the alliance it embodies between two seemingly alien worlds - that of the pit and that of the trenches. Fernand Marche first went down a mine at the age of thirteen; he died at the front aged twenty-eight. His monument was first erected at the entrance to pit no. 1, symbolically marking the inseparable link between mining conditions and patriotic sacrifice. This choice of location, desired by the company, turned every entry to work into a silent act of remembrance. Sculpted by Armand Roblot and set on a base made by the marble-maker Kinard, the monument elegantly combines post-war commemorative statuary with the aesthetic codes of the emerging Art Deco style. The soberly serious figure of the soldier is framed by an entrance and a gate whose pillars and miniature Doric columns betray a real architectural ambition, that of a company wishing to inscribe its memory in stone with dignity. Relocated at the end of the 1970s to the entrance to Square Henri Darras, the monument is now part of a peaceful green space that gives it a well-deserved serenity. The monument was listed as a Historic Monument in 2010, as part of a wider initiative to recognise the mining heritage of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region - a large part of which joined UNESCO in 2012 - giving it new visibility and lasting protection. To visit this monument is to come face to face with the intimate and the universal: a man, a life, an entire era summed up in the silence of a stone effigy.
Architecture
The Monument to Soldier Marche is part of the commemorative aesthetic of the inter-war period, characterised by realistic statuary combined with a meticulous architectural composition. The central figure, sculpted by Armand Roblot, represents a soldier in a posture that is both martial and contemplative, typical of the war memorials of the 1920s, which sought to combine heroism and humanity. It rests on a marble base created by the marble mason Kinard, whose meticulous workmanship betrays the desire of the Compagnie des Mines de Béthune to honour its employee with dignity. Bas-reliefs complete the ensemble, adding a narrative dimension to the work. What sets this monument apart from the mass of French war commemorations is its integration into a coherent architectural whole. The entrance and the grille framing the monument skilfully blend two stylistic registers: classical tradition, perceptible in the small Doric columns that punctuate the composition, and Art Deco vocabulary, visible in the clean lines of the pillars, their cornice without moulding and the geometric design of the letters "CB" engraved in the stone. This balance between classical heritage and decorative modernity makes the complex a particularly representative example of French commemorative architecture of the 1920s. Initially set in a semi-circular square at the entrance to pit no. 1, the monument benefited from an industrial setting that reinforced its memorial significance. Since it was moved to the Square Henri Darras, it has been set in a calmer, planted environment. The gate and its pillars were retained when the monument was moved, preserving the integrity of the whole as it was designed in 1924-1925.
Related Figures
Fernand-Joseph-Édouard Marche (1888-1916) — mineur de la fosse n°1 et soldat du 130e Régiment d'Infanterie, mort en héros le 1er août 1916Armand Roblot — sculpteur chargé de réaliser la figure du soldat et les bas-reliefs du monumentKinard — marbrier ayant réalisé et posé le socle du monument et installé la statue entre 1924 et 1925Le Ministre de la Guerre — signataire de la citation à l'ordre de l'Armée accordée à Fernand Marche le 26 avril 1922La Compagnie des Mines de Béthune — commanditaire du monument, décisionnaire de son érection à l'entrée de la fosse n°1
Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Monument au soldat Marche located?
Monument au soldat Marche is located in Bully-les-Mines, Pas-de-Calais department, Hauts-de-France region, France.
When was Monument au soldat Marche built?
Monument au soldat Marche dates back to a period built in the modern era (19th-20th century).
Is Monument au soldat Marche open to visitors?
Monument au soldat Marche is currently closed to visitors.