Tyne cot

[Stainless steve]

Hi there.

Having visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, on a few occasions I have often wondered why there are four Germans buried within the walls?  It was suggested that they had been left in their original burial positions, which would make some sense but considering that so many German graves were exhumed after the war and moved why would they leave just four soldiers within the walls of such a large commonwealth graveyard ?

regards Steve.

[nigelcave]

Not gospel (and away from my books), but look where they are buried - in a small(ish) group of irregular burials by the bunker, the implication being that these were original burials and were left. IIRC some story about GV (I can see problems with this but it also seems plausible) suggesting that that whole group remained where they were when the site was selected as a concentration cemetery.

[Phil Wood]

There are German graves in many CWGC cemeteries - I suspect that it wasn't felt necessary to move them as they were already in safe places of interrment.

[AussiesInMelbourne]

I asked this question of the Director of CWGC France some years ago and he offered the following.

 

He understood that during the immediate post-war period, the grave registration units were identifiying grave sites, for later collection by recovery teams. They searched for items such as, for example: rifles or bayonets, wooden crosses or other markers stuck into the ground indicating the possibility of a burial. They also looked for small hollows with water in them that were of a grey/greenish colour indicating the same possibility or, a rat-hole with small human bones (as best they could determine) around the entrance.

 

When a cemetery site had been confirmed, the burial officer would have one team digging a trench grave in the cemetery whilst another team went out in into the former battlefield to collect, say, 10 "sets" of Remains. This they would do until they had the number that the burial officer instructed. If they opened a grave site and found a German body, they generally, lifted them and brought them back to the Cemetery and the burial officer would determine where they would be placed. That is, either amongst the other burials or, to one side. They did not take them a german cemetery as they had no authority to do so nor were they inclined to do it.

 

There was also a saying that in regard to these former foes being buried side by side, " there are no enemies in death".

 

It was many years after the war before France/Belgium came to an agreement with the German Government in relation to the official recognition of the German cemeteries. I understood that this is why the metal crosses in the WW1 German cemeteries rarely stand over the grave of the person/s identified. I am certain that one of our member historians would know better about the timing.

 

It was some years ago that I had this discussion and I am certain (hope) I have recalled the discussion fairly accurately.

 

Peter 

[Stainless steve]

Many thanks for shedding light on this subject it's greatly appreciated.. 

regards steve

[nigelcave]

14 hours ago, AussiesInMelbourne said:

I understood that this is why the metal crosses in the WW1 German cemeteries rarely stand over the grave of the person/s identified. I am certain that one of our member historians would know better about the timing.

Peter 

 

 

Well one reason in at least some of the cemeteries would be that there used to be a lot more crosses; thus, at Neuville St Vaast/La Target/Maison Blanche German cemetery, with c.44,000 burials, IIRC, when I first visited in 1968 there were more rows and these were in narrow flower beds. Usually two to a cross. One of the gardeners told me at the time there were something like 80 kms of flower bed edging. In the 70s these were replaced with the metal and embossed crosses (and stone markers for Jews - I cannot recall what they had for the latter back in the sixties) and usually four to a cross and the rows were wider (much easier for mowing machines, amongst other things) and the flower beds removed. It was at that time that names were added on slabs for the 'known' in the mass grave(s), again IIRC.