Walter James Tiller- Should he have a CWGC headstone?

[Howard]

A friend has been researching the men of Croydon (Hertfordshire). One is Walter James Tiller.

Walter enlisted in the Army Service Corps and served in France from 6th December 1915 - he was later transferred to the Labour Corps. He contracted TB whilst in the trenches and on 19th March 1919 he was honourably discharged. He was awarded, the Victory Medal, British War Medal and the 1915 Star plus the Silver Badge.

He subsequently died of the disease 29th July 1921 and was buried in a common grave in Croydon Churchyard. His death certificate states he was a market carrier and in brackets it also says Ex-Soldier. Cause of death is given as Phthisis (which we later called TB) 2 years and 6 months. If he had the illness 2 yrs 6 mnths before his death that brings us to January 1919.

Is Walter entitled to a War Grave - his name is not on the Croydon War memorial either. Having looked at the site" In from the Cold" it looks like he comes under Category 2 - he seems to be within the qualifying period though not sure how you PROVE that death was service attributable - though if he was not there he may well not have caught it!

His grandchildren and great nephew do visit the church yard and the war memorial, Walter 's wife lost 5 relations during the War and it would mean a great deal to them were Walter commemorated.

Howard (on behalf of Valerie)

[KevinBattle]

You obviously know of the In From The Cold project, and many are also members of this Forum.

You can follow their guidelines and contact them direct with his Death Certificate and other backing documentation.

The cut off date for WW1 is 30th August 1921, so he qualifies on that aspect, but the Death Certificate needs to show that the Cause of Death was the same as for his discharge from the Army (which seems to be the case here) and not run over by a bus, completely non related to anything to do with WW1 service!)

In successful cases you can recover the cost of the Death Certificate (Thanks, Terry!)

Check what other advice more expert pals offer, but IFTC would seem to be the best way forward for Walter.

Is this man related?

TILLER, F G. Rank: Private. Service No: 7400. Date of Death: 11/11/1914. Age: 32.

Regiment/Service: Bedfordshire Regiment 1st Bn.

Grave Reference: I. M. 70. Cemetery: POPERINGHE OLD MILITARY CEMETERY.

Additional Information: Son of Mr. and Mrs. William Tiller, of Croydon, Royston, Herts; husband of Riba Tiller, of Long Stowe, Cambridge.

[CGM]

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Is Walter entitled to a War Grave .......................Having looked at the site" In from the Cold" it looks like he comes under Category 2 - he seems to be within the qualifying period though not sure how you PROVE that death was service attributable - though if he was not there he may well not have caught it!

Howard (on behalf of Valerie)

The most obvious way to prove that his death from phthisis was attributable is for there to be an entry in his service records which states he was suffering from TB and this was attributable to his service.

Have his service records (or pension records) survived?

[Howard]

Many thanks KevinBattle and CGM. I have sent your posts to Valerie, she has the case in hand along with all the others on the Croydon memorial so now some more areas to work on.

I had a look on Ancestry but fear his records were amongst those burnt in 1944.

Howard

[helpjpl]

Silver War Badge:

Regtl No: 300647

Rank: Pte

Name: Tiller, W. Jas.

Unit discharged from: Labour Corps

No. of Badge and Certificate: B265, 613

Date of Enlistment: 11.11.15

Date of Discharge: 19.03.19

Cause of Discharge: Sick Para 392 xvia

Para 392 xvi and xvia explained here:

Records of the Silver War Badge of 1914-1918

JP

[tullybrone]

Hi,

I would echo the comments about contacting IFCP.

I contacted Terry in June this year and he could not have been more helpful. In my case I was greatly assisted by the soldier's service record having survived the blitz.

Good Luck.

Steve Y

[stevem49]

Pardon me for asking but how do you know he had it when serving, if the records did not survive?

There are many reasons for names not being on a memorial. I found one man for IFCP who was not commemorated in France but was on his local memorial. Whilst his pal who died the same day, was commemorated in France but not on the local memorial. A possible reason is that the family where Baptists.

Best of Luck

Steve

[Howard]

Pardon me for asking but how do you know he had it when serving, if the records did not survive?

I don't, I passed on the request for a friend who is working on all the men on the Croydon memorial.

She is now busy following the leads above and a few others and I hope she succeeds.

Many thanks to everyone for all the help.

Howard