Ors

For the acronym, see ORS (disambiguation).

Ors is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.

It is located on the Sambre–Oise Canal, in a small wood called Bois l'Évêque.

History

The commune was an area of intense fighting in November 1918 for control of the canal. Second Lieutenant Wilfred Owen was killed in action there, a week before the Armistice, and is buried at the Communal Cemetery beside many of his men. The village's new (2014) primary school is named for Owen.

Ors is famous for its yearly water jousting competition on the canal every August 15. Water jousting has been played there since the Middle Ages.

Heraldry

The arms of Ors are blazoned : Or, 3 lions azure, on a chief gules, a demi-'Notre-Dame-de-Grâce de carnation' issuant from the line of division, vested gules and azure and holding in her left arm the Baby Jesus. (Boursies, Cattenières, Carnières, Estrun, Maresches, Onnaing, Ors, Orsinval, Thun-l'Évêque and originally, Notre-Dame de Cambrai, use the same arms.)

Monuments

The church, Église de l'Assomption, was built from 1851 to 1872.

Ors Communal Cemetery

The Ors Communal Cemetery is also the burial place of Wilfred Owen, the British war poet. There is also a memorial to Owen.

The Wilson Owen Memorial in Ors

See also

• Communes of the Nord department

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Ors Communal Cemetery on the website "Remembrance Trails of the Great War in Northern France"
• Société des Jouteurs Sauveteurs d'Ors