Does anyone know anything about this poem

Question

My near 80 year old mother remembers having this poem recited to her by her mother as a young girl. She remembers a great deal but there are some gaps. Is anyone able to place it in context or provide more information? We suspect it dates to World War I era. The following is an incomplete and possibly inaccurate transcription of her memory. In particular, was Senlis surrounded by an area with the pronunciation of Ardefine at the time?

Swinging through Senlis, in Ardefine
comes a French regiment of the line,
among the people who cheer for joy,
is Gustav Chetaine, the gardener’s boy.

Now Gustav, who stands just four foot three,
wishes that he might a soldier be,
but Ah! My lad you’re not yet fit,
being only 14 years and a bit.

On go the troops, if you look you’ll find,
the gardener’s boy still lurks behind,
on to the station, he’s there again,
he smuggles onto the soldier’s train.

Brave lads, they’re loathe to part with him yet,
they think to make him the Regiment’s pet,
but that is a role he must decline,
no pet, but a soldier of the line.

They get to the front, (with the gardener’s boy)
to a little village near Fontenoy,
where a maid with streaming eyes,
cries “save me, save me, the foemen are near (nigh)”.

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Into the camp which was all astir,
Gustav reports, “Seven prisoners, Sir”!
Forced to swallow their bitter cup,
their heads hang down and their hands go up.

When they ask what his reward should be,
“Please make me a soldier”, said four foot three.
There on the spot the deed was done,
Such soldiers they need, so they made him one.

Twice he was wounded with shot and steel,
just to return when his wounds should heal,
???
???

Then comes his Colonel to (the) hospital,
gives him his stripes as a corporal,

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and the badge of honour shall shortly be,
pinned to the breast of four foot three!

Answer 1

I cannot find anything on the poem itself, but Gustave Chatain is a well known French World War One historical figure who enlisted surreptitiously at age 14, received commendations, and rose to the rank of corporal. Here he is in a publicity photo with Foch.

The first of three tales in this booklet tells a (somewhat fanciful) version of Gustave's enlistment and heroism in capturing seven Germans sleeping in a barn.

So he crept softly up the ladder and saw seven "Boches" lying fast asleep on the floor, where they had spread out beds of hay for themselves. The fearless boy brought down the butt-end of his rifle sharply on the floor and awakened them. Then they all sat up suddenly, looking very much alarmed.

....

Gustave ordered them to stand in a row as if at drill. Then he called to his companions, who were greatly amused and astonished to see seven big German soldiers holding their hands above their heads, while the gallant French boy stood looking at them with a stern, proud face. They raised a cheer for Gustave and called him a hero.

Here is another more complete retelling, in French, of Gustave's adventures.

And excerpts from Le Petie Parisien dated Jeudi 14 Septembre 1918

And another from the Journal du Loire

Fontenoy is in Belgium on the border with France, roughly 25 km NW of Mons and about halfway to Lille, and the site of a famous French victory in the War of Austrian Succession. This was the NW end of the Battle of the Frontiers in August 1914, when five German armies advancing through the Ardennes defeated French and British forces, driving them south towards Paris.

Senlis is a short distance NNE of Paris, at the very north end of French lines during the French/British victory at the Marne that drove German forces from Paris back into Belgium.

I have found two possibilities for the "Ardefine" reference in the song. Neither one quite fits, but for completeness here they are:

• Gustave first joined up with a regiment of mountain troops; or in French: "Troupes alpines".

• The Department due west of Paris, including Versailles, is Yvelines. This is still about 25-30 km from Senlis, but perhaps artistic licence.

Answer 2

This is rank speculation, since I couldn't find a copy of the poem, but I'm going to guess that your mother's "Ardefine" is actually "Ardennes fine". I believe the final "s" is silent, and of course "fine" can be synonymous with "beautiful".

The Ardennes is an area of forest, rolling hills, and other rough terrain running along the southern border of Belgium. The two towns mentioned, Senlis and Fontenoy are in France (NE of Paris) and Belgium (South Central) respectively. While a direct march between the two would probably go through a border forest, technically that would more likely be the nearby Scarpe-Escout, but that wouldn't have been as famous (and wouldn't have scanned as well in a poem). Alternatively, I suppose they could have marched in through the Ardennes, and then come in to Fontenoy from the East.