melliget Posted 17 November , 2009 Share Posted 17 November , 2009 In The Times, I came across mention of the sad case of a staff sergeant of the Army Veterinary Corps who, in 1916, shot his wife and then committed suicide. Now, I'm not surprised that he's not commemorated by the CWGC but I'm just wondering, did the CWGC have specific criteria that excluded a person from commemoration, even though they satisfied the normal criteria for inclusion. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Soul Posted 17 November , 2009 Share Posted 17 November , 2009 No exclusion criteria, Martin, other than the usual. If he was a serving soldier at the time of the his death then he is entitled to be commemorated irrespective of the circumstances of his death. Men who died on the scaffold through judicial execution are also entitled to be commemorated if the Army (or other service branch) had not discharged them beforehand. If you don't wish to post his details then I would forward the name to Terry Denham. Best wishes. Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 17 November , 2009 Share Posted 17 November , 2009 Martin Andy is quite correct. There are no exclusions for a serving man/woman. In fact, I have a case identical to the one you mention going through at the moment. It is quite possible that someone in the army thought they did not qualify at the time and failed to include the name on the lists sent to CWGC. There are plenty of murderers in the CWGC list (although this man was never convicted, of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melliget Posted 18 November , 2009 Author Share Posted 18 November , 2009 Thanks for the clarification, Andy and Terry. I'm glad I asked because I had wrongly assumed that he wouldn't be commemorated. Terry, I'll PM you the details, if that's ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 25 November , 2009 Share Posted 25 November , 2009 However, now having got the man's death certificate, this looks like him (can't explain the forename variation). Name: RUXTON, GEORGE PERCY Initials: G P Nationality: United Kingdom Rank: Staff Serjeant Regiment/Service: Army Veterinary Corps Unit Text: Depot Date of Death: 29/12/1915 Service No: SE/5731 Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead Grave/Memorial Reference: D. T. 52. Cemetery: SOUTH EALING CEMETERY His DC gives the date of death as 30.12.15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Clark Posted 14 December , 2009 Share Posted 14 December , 2009 This is one non com that I personally would NEVER have taken forward although I agree that according to the rules he is indeed entitled to be commemorated. Pity it has to be with other men would didn't commit cold blooded murder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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