IanA Posted 18 May , 2014 Share Posted 18 May , 2014 I recently did a little research on the war memorial in Makerstoun, Scottish Borders, and one of the men was a chap named Quarry who died of dysentery and is buried in Malta. I came across a photo of his grave today and was surprised that it (and some others) stood out from the rest, being rather ornate compared to the simple slabs of the majority. The one thing which impresses when we visit CWGC cemeteries in France and Belgium is that Prince Maurice of Battenberg has the same headstone as Pte F Bloggs. I'd be interested to know if anyone has any information as to how some graves in Malta became 'more equal than others'. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1st AIF Posted 18 May , 2014 Share Posted 18 May , 2014 I would suggest that this is a private memorial. I have been to the Pieta CWGC cemetery and the gravestones are a little different. The ground in Malta is rock , so the men in WW1 were generally buried 3 to a grave due to effort required to dig a hole in rock. I can't explain why Quarry would have had a private memorial as these were generally frowned upon in France/Belgium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 19 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Indeed. Apart from Zillebeke churchyard, I can't think of another example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anneca Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 I took some photos a couple of years ago in the CWGC Malta Capuccini Military Cemetery and noticed many stones were different from others. Some were ornate and much larger than others, some private memorials had members of the person's family added to them and one on my link was erected by the Officers and Ship's Company of HMS Biarritz in remembrance of Harry Ernest Wild Anne. https://skydrive.liv...F4F52521890!104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Pieta (CWGC) was started in the last quarter of the 19th Century and therefore had a bit of a tradition for private graves which seems to have been carried on into WW1. There are other CWGC cemeteries that also have private memorials including Heilly Station in France and Tidworth Military Cemetery in the UK . The latter, started before the war, contains private memorials of men who died whilst stationed nearby during WW1, including some Australians. TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 I've seen a fair few private headstones scattered around the CWGC cemeteries along the Western Front - always unusual enough to be noticeable, but it's no longer a surprise to find one. I usually take photos - but totaly fail to keep records! I'll skim through a few folders of cemetery photos and see what pops up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 19 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Pieta (CWGC) was started in the last quarter of the 19th Century and therefore had a bit of a tradition for private graves which seems to have been carried on into WW1. There are other CWGC cemeteries that also have private memorials including Heilly Station in France and Tidworth Military Cemetery in ten UK . The latter, started before the war, contains private memorials of men who died whilst stationed nearby during WW1, including some Australians. TR Thanks, Terry, I was rather hoping you might mosey along. I'd no idea that Malta was begun in the 19th century so that makes some sort of sense but I am surprised about Heilly Station (somewhere I've never been) - I wonder why the 'relaxation' of the rules there. I've looked at the images of Heilly on the CWGC site and only one private memorial stands out. There may be others not quite so grandiose. I've seen a fair few private headstones scattered around the CWGC cemeteries along the Western Front - always unusual enough to be noticeable, but it's no longer a surprise to find one. I usally take photos - but totaly fail to keep records! I'll skim through a few folders of cemetery photos and see what pops up. You and I must go to different cemeteries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Here's one = 2/Lt D H L Barnard, Wimereaux And another L/Cpl J P O'Neil, Heilly Station Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Two at Henu: Capt C C Anthony and 2/Lt W Brunstrom - with CWGC addition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 One more: Flt Lt H G Wanklyn RN at Calais Southern Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 19 May , 2014 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Thanks, Phil. I was right - I've not seen any of those. Does anyone know what the IWGC ruling was on this sort of thing? (I can't help thinking that the poor souls lying under such grandiose memorials might be a tad embarrassed if they knew.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 I suspect that the families got there before the IWGC was created. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 19 May , 2014 Share Posted 19 May , 2014 Not just families, but comrades of those killed. As far as I am aware the commission turned a blind eye, bearing in mind that a lot of these memorials were erected before any "rules" were formulated. TR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scorer Posted 26 May , 2014 Share Posted 26 May , 2014 There is a private memorial to Captain S F M Cesari, 6th Field Ambulance, RAMC, in Bethune Town Cemetery. Captain Cesari was killed in action at Vermelles on 14th March 1915 (according to my records) or 3rd October 1915 (according to the CWGC records) and the memorial was raised by the Officers, Non Commissioned Officers and Men of the unit. The grave reference is II. K. 4, and it's on the right hand side of the pathway leading from the main entrance towards the CWGC area. I haven't got an image to hand at the moment, although I do have one somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 27 May , 2014 Share Posted 27 May , 2014 Here's one a small one from Faubourg d'Amiens - Maj N B Sinclair-Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Wood Posted 27 May , 2014 Share Posted 27 May , 2014 And three from Choques: Dvr Leonard Holt L/Cpl W Partridge and Maj W E Nicol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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