bmac Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Is there any source for information about the location and other details for the cemeteries cleared as part of the concentration process. I am particularly interested in the Gommecourt area where, I believe, something like 12 cemeteries were concentrated into the two main battlefield ones that currently exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Bill The old CWGC registers usually contain details of cleared cemeteries and much (not all) of this information has been transferred to their website as part of the cemetery descriptions. You have to look under the cemetery to which the graves were moved. I'll look at my records to see if I can help but it would assist if you could decide which current CWGC cemeteries are in the area in which you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 I've wondered about this subject, too. In my case I would like to know if it is possible to find out which cemetery a soldier was buried in before being moved to another. I know that it is often possible to establish whether a soldier was part of the original cemetery from reading the cemetery register, but is there a way to establish where the others came from, and when? Regards, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Ken Contact CWGC on casualtyenq@cwgc.org and give them the name of the casualty concerned. They will then check their records for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Hi. I have found it very interesting to trace initial burial sites through the CWGC, you can sometimes be very surprised how far a body was moved and not to the most obvious location. In terms of your original question about Gommecourt, the Battleground Europe book, of the same name, contains a section on this very subject, listing the original cemeteries and i believe a map of where they were. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 As promised here are some of the details of the Gommecourt area. The numbers in brackets are the number of Commonwealth graves moved. Gommecourt British Cemetery No.1 (107) to Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 Gommecourt British Cemetery No.3 (117) to Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 Gommecourt British Cemetery No.4 (70) to Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 Gommecourt Château Cemetery (69) to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery Gommecourt Wood (Little Z) Cemetery No.4 (23) to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery Gommecourt Wood (The Sap) Cemetery No.1 (111) to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery Gommecourt Wood Cemetery No.5 (27) to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery Gommecourt Wood Cemetery No.6 (40) to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery Gommecourt Wood Cemetery No.8 (46) to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmac Posted 12 March , 2004 Author Share Posted 12 March , 2004 The ones I am interested in are: Gommecourt British Cemetery No.1 (107) to Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 Gommecourt British Cemetery No.3 (117) to Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 Gommecourt British Cemetery No.4 (70) to Gommecourt British Cemetery No.2 Unless I am missing something, the Gommecourt book in the Battleground Europe series gives a map with pre-concentration cemeteries on the 46th Division's front but not for those above which were on the 56th Division's front for which there is only a written description of their location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuart Brown Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Terry, Thank you for the above. My wife's great uncle was one of the casualties moved to Gommecourt Wood New Cemetery. A letter to nok stated:- "I am to inform you that in accordance with the agreement with the French and Belgian Governments to remove all scattered graves and those in small cemeteries and certain other cemeteries which were situated in places unsuitable for permanent retention , it has been found necessary to exhume the bodies buried in certain areas........ dated 19.9.21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Bill Email CWGC as I suggested and they should be able to give you the map refs for the above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Carter Posted 12 March , 2004 Share Posted 12 March , 2004 Hello bmac This map may help. It is from a little book called "The White Cross Touring Atlas of the Western Battlefields." Published for relatives to visit the cemeteries not long after the war The following are the Gommecourt Wood Cemeteries. The three figure number is their position on the map. 1 674 2 675 3 676 4 677 5 678 6 679 8 680 (other numbers on the map represent: 100 Bastion Cem. 670 Gommecourt Cem No.2 673 Gommecourt Chateau cem 614 Fonqueviller mil cem ext 975 Little 'Z' Brit cem 1243 Point 75 Brit cem 1266 Poplar Brit cem 1517 Shrine cem, Bucquoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Carter Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 I forgot to mention, with regards to my previous reply. If any other Forum member is interested in a particular area regarding the sites of original battlefield cemeteries, let me know and I will scan a section of map and post it. Regards Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Contact CWGC on casualtyenq@cwgc.org and give them the name of the casualty concerned. They will then check their records for you. Do the CWGC make a charge for this information? I have potentailly quite a number of similar enquiries to make along these lines. Thanks, Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacky Platteeuw Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Terry, Would be interested for Ypres Salient. Thanks, Jacky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Jacky, Ypres area is covered on pages 42 and 43 of the "White Cross Touring Atlas". As you can imagine there are a lot of cemeteries recorded and you would need the full index to the cemeteries to make sense of it. I have a copy of this atlas and would be pleased to lend it to you for as long as you need it. Terry's scan is excellent , by the way. It's about 3 to 4 times life size on my 17" monitor. Regards Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Ken CWGC always reserve the right to charge non-relatives for information searches although they rarely do. You can only ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 I forgot to mention, with regards to my previous reply. If any other Forum member is interested in a particular area regarding the sites of original battlefield cemeteries, let me know and I will scan a section of map and post it. Terry - this is a book I am not familiar with. Can you provide publisher and date details? I would also love to see the map for the Courcelette area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 A few minutes ago there were two copies of this book for sale on Abe Books at about £13 each. There is only one now 'cos I just bought one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 And I just bought the other! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Ken I presume you got the one from Texas - mine was from the UK. I have never heard of this book before and, from the pic above, it will be worth the £12 it cost me! Partly answering Paul's question - the author is A.Gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zijde26 Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Try : http://www.addall.com/used/ Gilbert Deraedt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Terry, Yes, mine was from the USA. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Carter Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Paul There is no date, it cost 6 shilling and it is called the "White Cross" Touring Atlas of the Western Battlefields by Alexander Gross and it was produced for the White Cross Insurance Association, Moorgate St, London. below is a section of the Courcelette area. Of course it had to be where the pages ended. So I have joined two sections to make one map. 1350 Regina Trench cem. 1345 Red Chateau. 1293 Pys British Cem. 599 (should read 699) Grandcourt Rd Cem. 358 Cemetery Post Station 1276 Pozieres Br cem. 807 Hexham Road cem. 1723 Welsh Cemetery 1513 Seven Elms Dressing Station Cem. 1046 Martinpuich Br cem 1047 Martinpuich Road cem. 391 Clark's Dump 983 London cem 811 Highland cem. 176 Black Watch cem 109 Bazentin le Petit Mil cem 1600 Thistle Dump cem High Wood (where Thistle Dump is nowadays there is no red dot) 420 Courcelette Br Cem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 13 March , 2004 Share Posted 13 March , 2004 Many thanks for that, Terry. I can see I will have to try and get a copy of this, before forum members sweep the board! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Lees Posted 14 March , 2004 Share Posted 14 March , 2004 I've just received an e-mail cancelling my transaction. Looks like I wasn't quite fast enough after all Such is life. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 16 March , 2004 Share Posted 16 March , 2004 Sorry, Ken. My copy arrived this morning and it is well worth the £12. It contains pages of maps, town descriptions etc - all from the 1920s. It also has a very comprehensive list of Western Front cemeteries including many now long gone - with their locations marked as per the maps above. Well worth it if you can find a copy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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