Highgate Cemetery

[Bob Coulson]

This gentleman served with the Yorkshire Regiment and then died at home while with the RAF on October 28th 1918.

His burial details from CWGC state Highgate Cemetery, Screen Wall, Panel 2.

Could somebody clarify if this means a burial or commemerative inscription?

Would be grateful for any advice.

Bob.

[Terry Denham]

Bob

This means that he is buried there but commemorated on the Screen Wall rather than having a CWGC or even a private headstone.

These walls were used right from the beginning in the some of the large cemeteries in our major cities. Usually the men so listed are in unmarked graves or communal war plots.

In the case of Highgate the Screen Wall lists 82 men who have unmarked graves.

Harrison's actual grave is number 124.41138

[paul guthrie]

Damn, I was at Highgate 10 or so years ago & did not see this. George Elliot, Karl Marx & Rod Stewart's father buried there.

[Bob Coulson]

Terry,

Very interesting about the unmarked graves or communal plot as opposed to private or CWGC marker.

Would there be a specific reason for this.?

Bob.

[Terry Denham]

Bob

I think the main reason was to reduce cost.

At first CWGC were not going to be responsible for graves in the home countries but this decision was reversed in 1919. However, no rights were granted over such graves to CWGC or any extra money allocated (sound familiar?). This created many problems.

At the time many of the graves already had private memorials and many had been left unmarked.

Some of the large municipal cemeteries contained several hundreds of graves - most of them in private hands with a few war plots here and there. The screen wall was a way of commemorating such men without the cost and problems involved in individual headstones and it made maintenance easier.

The practice was continued after WW2 and new walls built - some of the large cemeteries having been unexpectedly cleared of headstones by the Luftwaffe.

CWGC has re-introduced memorial blocks as a means of commemorating men whose private graves are being grassed over by local authorities.

You can get occasional CWGC headstones in the Screen Wall cemeteries and so the practice was not always applied rigidly.

[Bob Coulson]

Terry,

Great stuff, many thanks for the explanation.

Bob.