Modern Co-ordinates needed.

[mickrose]

Mike,

This is from a fantastic book by David Raw about Rev. T.B. Hardy VC. called "It's Only Me". It covers his whole life.

Page 66: "The 8th Lincolns and the 8th Somersets arrived in Gommecourt from Flanders on 1st April 1918.

Theodore Hardy was awarded the Victoria Cross for four separate incidents, all involving

rescuing the wounded in Rossignol Wood on 5th April, and in Bucquoy on the 25th, 26th

and 27th April"

I think he and the 8th Lincolns arrived at a new location on the 23rd April about 1 mile north-west of Bucquoy, and the next day, the 24th,

he found my uncle's body. This was the second day of relative calm I think, but obviously things changed after that for the Reverend.

(there are details on page 70 and 72 about his actions in Bucquoy)

Mick

[johnboy]

When he was buried there was possibly a wooden cross to mark the grave. If the ground was fought over or shelled this marker and even the grave could have been lost.

I am wondering if the Rev. was issued with a map or if he pointed to the spot on a battalion map when he reported back?

[mickrose]

I'm sure there was a wooden cross, and the possibility of future bombardment existed. But there was not too much activity until the end of the war.

I think Rev. Hardy VC would have a set routine. He did this all the time. I don't know if he answered to anyone regarding the burial

locations etc, and I don't know if it was his responsibility or one of his much trusted stretcher bearers who logged the location.

But obviously someone was trained to do it, and sadly had to do it many many times.

Mick.

ps. I just completed 200 posts. When do I get a promotion to Captain or whatever??

[Guest]

I'm sure rapid promotion will follow soon.

I take it this is the original thread Mick Burial Map References

Mike

[mickrose]

I was about 7 months into the research then.

I cringe a bit now. Bit excitable then. Regarding his body still in L3a 80 45,

Then: "Probably still there" is now "Possibly still there, but very unlikely"

But if I can check this wasteland, which has possibly just turned into a garden,

and then trawl through thousands of burial returns recently released by CWGC,

and I still don't have him, then that is the end of the search.

And I WILL be relieved!

[Smithmaps]

Mick,

I provided you with the original co ordinates, and they were produced by LinesMan. (I am the LinesMan developer)

I would say that it is categorically not possible to make an accurate converter using the British Map Grid. It was only an overlay by the British, to help find co ordinates, and has no connection to the geo referencing of the maps. The ones I have seen are useful, yes,clever, yes and free, but will only put you in a ballpark.

LinesMan has been georeferenced entirely diffently, and goes back to the original Belgian Bonne cartography.

Having tested LinesMan personally across the entire Western Front prior to launch, I can personally vouch for the general accuracy.

Having said that, the WW1 maps themselves vary, and the system can only be as good as the mapping itself.

The early maps (1915) are very poor. The ones surveyed on the British side are more accurate. The later ones, calibrated with aerial photography are better.

But remember they are just drawings, being used 100 yeas on for a purpose that was never envisaged.

They have also sat around as large pieces of paper for 80 years, some mint, some creased, and then been scanned. So nothing is written in stone.

In addition, we have found that if areas were flattened, the roads and buildings may not necessarily have gone back in the same place, but this can only be discovered by using the tool, and a comparison with modern mapping in the system.

Your best bet for co ordinates is LinesMan, and the map reference should be taken from the closest map from the date of the burial, as it would contain identical errors if there are any.

I did say to you before, some years ago, that it would be possible to double check the calibration of that specific map, if you were ever contemplating an exhumation.

If you go there running LinesMan, you can check yourself how accurate that particular map is, by standing on known marked points in the area to see if it agrees. If the offset is consistent, you can apply the same offset to your map reference too, and thus gain more accuracy

However, the wild card in this whole thing, is how diligent and knowledgeable was the guy writing the map reference all those years ago?

LinesMan is probably the only tool that will get you there with any confidence.

Kind regards

Guy

[towisuk]

Both Bucquoy Communal Cemetery and it's Extensions have 2 "unknown's" in them.....might be worth trying the CWGC to get the coordinates of where the "unknown's" were recovered from.

regards

Tom