Headstone Inscriptions

[Guest Stoner]

Am I right in thinking that the family of the soldier concerned chose the inscription that is placed at the bottom of the CWGC stones, also that they were given a choice of "popular" inscriptions, or they could make up their own?

I just wondered because I can remember one that is around Ypres somewhere that is a Bar of music, sorry can't remember where, or whose?.

Does anybody know of this headstone and does any body know what music it is?

Again, just wondered?

Mark

[Kate Wills]

The musical inscription belongs to:

HUGH GORDON LANGTON

Second Lieutenant, 4th Bn., London Regt (Royal Fusiliers)

Friday, 26th October 1917. Age 32.

Son of J. Gordon Langton and Emily Langton, of 9E, Hyde Park Mansions, London; husband of Una M. Langton, of "Glendura," 92, Hornsey Lane, London. A pupil of Professors Secvik (Prague), Wirth (Berlin), and Auer (Russia). First initiate of the Gordon Langton Lodge, No.3069

POELCAPELLE BRITISH CEMETERY, Langemark-Poelkapelle, West-V., Belgium Sp. Mem. 3.

I have been trying to track this down for a while, and currently another member of this forum (guess who!!) is making further enquiries on my behalf. This is the only inscription of its kind in the CWGC, bearing musical notation instead of the written word. The CWGC line is that its few notes make it unidentifiable (have they never heard Beethoven's Fifth?). A friend once played it over the phone to me on her recorder, and neither of us could put a name to it; nor could a choir-trainer who has worked with Welsh National Opera. Langton's family certainly keep his memory alive with their choice. My guess is that it has a Masonic connection. It is obvious from his starry list of teachers that Langton was no mere parlour player. Auer, for instance, was one of the world's most respected violin teachers. One of these days I'll tackle his service record at the PRO; perhaps that might provide a clue.

[michaeldr]

Masonic music?

If a lodge has a good organist then a wide repertoire of music can be heard during the proceedings. If I am not mistaken, W. A. Mozart wrote some with a specifically masonic theme, though I feel Handel may be a better bet. Have you tried The Death March from 'Saul' or the march from 'Judas Maccabaeus'?

Regards

Michael D.R.

[Alan Lines]

Stoner

The family chose the inscription and they were allowed to make it up themselves. One exception I know of amongst the Commonwealth troops was for the New Zealanders who weren't allowed to have any inscriptions on their headstones to further ensure equality in death.

[michaeldr]

One more thought on these musical notes; is it possible they are a variation on the theme his initials HGL using a combination of English and continental

notation eg.

H is the German name for the English note B

G could of course be G

L could be the French or Italian 'la' which is equivalent to the English A

Or am I clutching at straws here?

Regards

Michael D.R,

[Hedley Malloch]

My understanding (which may be wrong) is that relatives could choose a personal inscription of up to 80 letters, but they had to pay 1d a letter. In the great depression which followed the war this was beyond the budgets of many families and the headstones of their loved ones were left uninscribed. Some local councils stepped into the breach and paid the inscription costs; Blaydon-on-Tyne was one such.

I wonder if this practise of charging had some 'knock-ons'. Were relatives who could afford inscriptions more likely to provide details for the register? Did the CWGC ask for register details and inscriptions at the same time? If they did, then there must have been many bereaved who were too embarrased to reply to either. But it is my impression based on 20+ years of wandering around CWGC cemeteriies that if there is an inscription on the headstone then there are more likely to be some personal details in the register

[Tom Morgan]

Hedley,

I think the authorities might indeed have asked for register details and inscriptions at the same time. My reason for suspecting this is that I have seen a grave (I think it was at Ebblinghem Military Cemetery but I could be wrong) where the grave inscription is something like, "Son of Mr. and Mrs. XYZ of XYZ Terrace, XYZtown." This is exactly the kind of note which you usually see in registers and I wonder if the relatives put the register details "in the wrong box" on the form.

Tom

[Terry Denham]

The Personal Inscriptions on CWGC headstones were indeed selected by the next of kin. They were supplied on the Final Verification Forms along with any other personal information the n-o-k wished to appear in the register - hence, Hedley's observation that those with inscriptions have more details in the register.

These Final Verification Forms were burnt in the early 1970s when CWGC moved offices although those for WW2 were retained. Of course, CWGC has kept a record of each inscription for use when replacement is necessary.

The n-o-k were allowed to choose up to 60 letters for the inscription (although there are exceptions to this rule as well) with spaces counting as one letter. There was a minimum charge at first of threepence halfpenny in old money (about one & a half new pence) with a maximum of one pound. This was a lot of money in those days and is one reason why inscriptions are either very brief or absent altogether. The NZ government banned all inscriptions in the interests of equality (although you will see the odd one done later on the quiet) and the Canadian government paid the charge on behalf of the n-o-k.

The charge was unpopular (!) and was later made voluntary but it was already too late for many families. The charge was optional in WW2 and had a maximum cost of seven shillings and six pence but was eventually abandoned - hence more and longer inscriptions on WW2 headstones.

The official belief appears to have been that a financial stake in the grave would increase the feeling of 'ownership' !!!!

[Terry Denham]

I ommitted to say in my reply that, of course, the luxury of a Personal Inscription was only offered to those n-o-k whose family member had a grave and a headstone.

The n-o-k of the missing whose names are on memorials did not have the option. This was, no doubt, for practical reasons as inscriptions would vastly increase the size of a memorial - imagine Thiepval three times the size!

[Paul Reed]

Just to add a little more to this.

It was my understanding that the then IWGC used the next of kin address supplied in the soldier's service record; which sometimes was wrong or the family had moved on - a possible reason why some families "never replied" as it were.

The Australian and Canadian governments paid for the next of kin of their soldiers to have an inscription, if they could not afford it. As several people have stated, the NZ government felt that if one family couldn't have an inscription, then none should. The late John Laffin told me that there was one exception - an officer of the NZEF whose name escapes me at the moment; however NZ soldiers commemorated on Special Memorials do have 'Their Glory Shall Not Be Blotted Out' inscribed on their stones, which I understand was done at no cost for all soldiers commemorated like this.

Over the years I have seen many inscriptions far longer than 60 letters; one headstone at Hazebroucke is covered in text! I have also seen a fler-de-lys motif inscribed on a headstone instead of an inscription - a family motif?

After WW2 it was decided not to include the exact address of a soldiers next of kin in the rgeister, as it was found that in the 20s and 30s some families of the fallen were plagued by confidence tricksters claiming to have known their loved one in the trenches! Copies of registers were then available in many public libraries, so it was information very much in the public domain.

I also understand from several Falklands veterans that the next of kin of those killed in 1982 were charged 50p a letter for the inscriptions on graves in the Falklands and those brought back to the UK - history has a way of repeating itself!

[Terry Denham]

Still more.....

There is at least one CWGC headstone here in Sussex where the Personal Inscription takes up almost the whole headstone!

IWGC did indeed use the military supplied addresses and so many were out of date leading to bare detail entries on their database and in the registers. However, the army did write to each address for verification before they sent out the death plaques & so some addresses had been updated. (I have copies of some of these letters).

It is also one reason why it is rare to see any extra detail for Indian, African, Arab servicemen - although their n-o-k were written to if possible! If they ever received the letters, I wonder what they made of them - especially the bit about paying!

Chinese servicemen were different in that they had traditional inscriptions added by their countrymen who carved the headstones.

Incidentaly, many of the Chinese names which appear on the headstones were either not translated into English or were lost. That is why many men of the Chinese Labour Corps do not have named entries in the registers.

However, CWGC recently rectified this by having a Chinese speaker look at each headstone to produce an English version of the name. These are now in their database. (If anyone is interested in these men, I do have a new list of them all).

On the subject of the Falklands War inscriptions, note that the CWGC is not responsible for these and it was the MoD that made the charge. Actually, the charge in WW1 was probably also Treasury driven!

[Andrew P]

Paul

The one New Zealand inscription belongs to

Pte Norman Vivian Williams in the cemetery of Courselles-Au-Bois in the Somme region.

The epitaph is

'Beloved Son of

George & Ruth Williams

Bristol Eng.

He Died For You And Me'

Apparently in this cemetery the headstones are of red granite.

Information from

'We Will Remember Them' by John Laffin

[Hedley Malloch]

So would it now be possible for a relative to have an inscription added to a WW1 headstone at no cost, or a voluntary contribution? Not immediately, but at some convenient time such as when the headstone was replaced. Or, indeed, in the register when it was re-printed; this should be easy now they are all DTPd. If either of these options are possible, with or without cost, then they might be worth publicising.

All CWGC cemeteries are places of regret, but the saddest cases are those soldiers with nothing on the headstone and nothing in the register.

Often inscriptions were used by n-o-k to make some quite strong personal statements about the fate of the deceased; Albert Ingham's (a SAD case)headstone at Balleaumont leaves the world in no doubt what his father thought about his son's fate.

[Terry Denham]

Hedley

You have an interesting point there. I'll try to find out if inscriptions can still be added.

On headstones in the UK, 'late' inscriptions have been added - usually privately - when the casualty's wife or other relative has died and been buried in the same grave.

Of course, this was another option not available to those who died overseas - their wife was not permitted to be buried in the same grave at a later date. The UK graves in these instances will be privately owned and not CWGC property.

There is another New Zealander with a Personal Inscription (Pte Albert James Green) buried in Brighton (Bear Road) Cemetery, Sussex and so it did happen.

[Kate Wills]

Last summer the CWGC raised a headstone to Pte Samuel Ringrose of the 5th Northants. in Naseby churchyard. Prior to this they approached the family to ask if they wished to enter a personal inscription on the stone, and they chose 'In Heavenly love abiding'. The CWGC have assured us that he will appear on the internet database in due course.

[Paul Reed]

Paul

The one New Zealand inscription belongs to

Pte Norman Vivian Williams in the cemetery of Courselles-Au-Bois in the Somme region.

Thanks for that Andrew.

Incidentally, it was my understanding that inscriptions cannot be added to graves overseas unless the entire cost of a replacement headstone is borne by the family; existing inscriptions cannot be altered either.

[Terry Denham]

The next CWGC internet database update is due at about Easter time.

Additions and amendments are made to the CWGC main database immediately they occur but what appears on the internet is only a copy of part of the main data. So as soon as the copy is taken it starts to become out-of-date!

[MartinWills]

I expect many of you have seen some of the old wooden cross grave markers. I often wondered, looking at the metal name strips, whether these were the same as those made the slots machines one used to find on railway stations which produced embossed metal strips at so many characters per penny. You selected the letter on a huge dial and then put all your strength into operating the lever which embossed the strip. I have learnt today that this was indeed the case as a reprint of a 1928 "special" from the Times confirms.

I wonder how this was achieved. Did the IWGC buy a machine; did they need a supply of pennies?

I would like to imagine someone going down to Maidenhead station with a huge bag of pennies and a vast list of names but I think this is wishful thinking, though I can see the cartoon already! Did this lead to an early version of repetitive strain injury?

[Terry Denham]

Perhaps they had a prototype Dymo machine!!!!!

Anyway, it would have been High Wycombe Station as they only moved to Maidenhead in the early 1970s.

[Guest Stoner]

Could anyone post the actual BAR OF MUSIC, my next door neighbour is a music teacher, nothing ventured nothing gained?

[michaeldr]

I would like to second Mark's proposal

I think we would all like to have a go at this puzzle

Please see what you can do to put the music on screen

Thanks

Michael D.R.

[MartinWills]

My wife, Kate, did have a record of the notes but someone borrowed it and did not return it.

Can anyone help by posting a note (no, don't laugh) of the notes OR a picture, and we can all have another go at it.

[Terry Denham]

There is a photo in "Before Endeavours Fade" but it is not very clear & does not really show the notes!

[Kate Wills]

I have been back in touch with Jill Davies of Warwick, who showed her photo of Langton's grave to her neighbour, who is a piano teacher. No firm conclusions from Warwick, but Jill is putting her photo in the post, so unless someone uploads it in the meantime, hopefully it will be here soon for all to see.

Now, is there anyone out there with the SIBELIUS computer programme that would generate the notes for all to hear?

[Kate Wills]

A photo of Langton's inscription can be found by clicking

http://www.digilife.be/teleducatie/vbssj/o...omd98/omd15.htm

and scrolling down the page.