curranl Posted 9 September , 2004 Share Posted 9 September , 2004 Hello Terry, I was working in Bantry, Co. Cork earlier in the week, next door to the local graveyard. I had a look around it at one stage and to my surprise came across three CWGC headstones; two WW1 and one WW2. Are there many CWGC graves in the civilian cemetries in Ireland? I know there was a thread some time ago about one in Tralee. Who erects the headstones and maintains the graves? All three in Bantry looked no more than 10 years old and the graves were reasonably well maintained. One of the WW1 men was described as a "Trimmer" - does anyone know what a trimmer did - trim sails/boilers?? He was a RNR man (Royal Navy Reserve?) - I think Bantry was a Brititsh Navy base in WW1. Regards, Liam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desmond7 Posted 9 September , 2004 Share Posted 9 September , 2004 Liam - several examples in my area. Plus graves from HMS Viknor in Ballycastle area. The Viknor graves, I would imagine, have the bodies of sailors 'washed up'. Local cemetery CWGC graves are mostly of soldiers who died at home from wounds/illness etc. Best wishes Des Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 9 September , 2004 Share Posted 9 September , 2004 Liam/Des Statistics for the Republic of Ireland There are a total of 2986 Commonwealth War Graves in the Republic plus 155 names on official memorials making 3141 commemorations in total. Of these, 2597 are from WW1 and 544 from WW2. CWGC also have three Foreign National War Graves and one Non-World War Grave in their care in the country. There are 656 cemeteries containing Commonwealth War Graves or other graves in CWGC Care in the Republic and two official memorials [Grangegorman (Cork) Memorial Headstones and the Grangegorman Memorial]. CWGC is reponsible for the graves as in any other country (excluding any private headstone ones) but they will have agreements with local cemetery/government authorities for their maintenance - much as they do in the UK. They will be inspected periodically - again like those in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curranl Posted 9 September , 2004 Author Share Posted 9 September , 2004 Hello Terry, Thanks for your reply. From those statistics, the CWGC graves are relatively common; I had never seen one in a civilian cemetery before. Incidentally, I don't know how often they are inspected, but the ones in Bantry were in good nick. Regards, Liam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 9 September , 2004 Share Posted 9 September , 2004 Liam As the whole of Ireland was part of the UK during WW1 and many Irishmen served, it is not surprising that the spread of war graves is similar to that in the rest of the UK. Likewise it follows that there will be less for WW2 when the country was separate - though still with many of its nationals participating in the British forces. In the UK the area inspectors check graves at least every three years and I cannot imagine it will be very different in the Republic. I don't know how many war graves have private headstones in Ireland - in the UK it is about 18%. If the figure is higher over there, this may explain why you have not noticed them before. Also, 625 of the war graves are in Grangegorman Military Cemetery making the spread thinner across the rest of the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cooper Posted 14 September , 2004 Share Posted 14 September , 2004 Hello Terry, I was working in Bantry, Co. Cork earlier in the week, next door to the local graveyard. I had a look around it at one stage and to my surprise came across three CWGC headstones; two WW1 and one WW2. Are there many CWGC graves in the civilian cemetries in Ireland? I know there was a thread some time ago about one in Tralee. Who erects the headstones and maintains the graves? All three in Bantry looked no more than 10 years old and the graves were reasonably well maintained. By amazing coincidence, I just got back on Saturday after a week staying in the small village near Bantry where my great-grandfather was born and died, the latter while still in the Grenadier Guards, having returned wounded just before the end of WW1. The CWGC headstone is is good condition, but I am slightly concerned in that the location details of "Durrus Old Churchyard" are misleading, in that the site - when we eventually found it - turned out to be some 5km outside of Durrus village, about 500m from the hamlet of Maulinward, and is in fact signposted as "Maulinward Old Burial Ground"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 14 September , 2004 Share Posted 14 September , 2004 Nick CWGC use the official name for cemeteries as used by the owning authority which does not always match local terminology. However, sometimes a name can change and it takes some time for CWGC to find out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon_armstrong Posted 14 September , 2004 Share Posted 14 September , 2004 One of the WW1 men was described as a "Trimmer" - does anyone know what a trimmer did - trim sails/boilers?? He was a RNR man (Royal Navy Reserve?) - I think Bantry was a Brititsh Navy base in WW1. This may or may not having anything to so with it, but great-grandfather was a trimmer on the Tyne in the 1900s to 1920s, although I'm not sure it is the same thing in a navy context. I've been told the trimmer's job was to make sure that when colliers were loaded with coal to be shipped around the country or abroad that the load was distrubuted properly so that there was no instability when the vessel went to sea. There is a definition on this page: Definitions of Mining Related Occupations Possibly the navy needed men to do that for supplying coaling stations or for other supply vessels...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 19 September , 2004 Share Posted 19 September , 2004 Terry, This photo is of the National War Memorial at Islandbridge in Dublin. There are no graves there, but there are pavilions containing books listing the names of 49,400 Irishmen who died in the Great War. A remembrance ceremony is held every November. Isn't this an "official" memorial? Michael Pegum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Pegum Posted 19 September , 2004 Share Posted 19 September , 2004 Maybe the photo will get through this time! Michael Pegum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 19 September , 2004 Share Posted 19 September , 2004 Michael No it is not. In this context, 'official' memorials are those provided and maintained by CWGC. There are , of course, hundreds/thousands of others all over the world provided by other people. However, the names on these will appear on CWGC headstones or one of their memorials also. It is their CWGC commemoration which is the 'official' one as provided by the Commonwealth governments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPotter Posted 19 September , 2004 Share Posted 19 September , 2004 Jon is correct, During WW1 many vessels were powered by coal fired steam engines. The coal bunkers (and bunkers is still the term for the heavy fuel oil used in modern vessels engines) needed to be kept 'trim' whilst the stokers did their bit. Confusingly a badly managed bunker would affect the heel of the vessel (angle to one side or the other) causing a list rather than the trim, which is a measure of how the vessel is in the water in the other sense - 'down by the head' (God forbid!) or 'down by the stern'. Regards Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curranl Posted 20 September , 2004 Author Share Posted 20 September , 2004 Hello All, Thanks for your responses. I will now keep an eye out for CWGC headstones! Jon and Steve, thanks for sorting out the Trimmer question. Regards, Liam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museumtom Posted 20 September , 2004 Share Posted 20 September , 2004 Just thought that I would add that I have a copy of Irelands memorial records, the same as in Island bridge if anyone wants a lookup just ask. Just one of the many war dead bases available to you. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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