Lt E C Mackenzie RGA-Quetta Christian & Cantonment Cemetary

[KONDOA]

Chums,

 

I have been interested in this officer for a number of years. He served in East Africa with the Hull Heavy Battery RGA and throughout their time in France with 545th Siege Battery RGA.

A career officer, he was sent to 22nd Mountain Battery in Quetta in 1919.

 

Lieutenant - Edward Charrington Mackenzie and Flying Officer - Edmund Cronin Ushers-Somers

 

On the 16th of May 1924 he took off from Quetta in Bristol Fighter D7821 of 20 Squadron, Royal Air Force, piloted by Flying Officer Edmund Cronin Ushers-Somers from the squadron. The aircraft stalled shortly after takeoff and crashed killing both men.

 

I have since tried to locate and photograph the grave of Lt Mackenzie.

 

This is a difficult undertaking, Quetta is out of bounds to foreigners so I sought and commissioned a local contact to do the leg work.
 

It is unfortunate that no grave of Lt Mackenzie can be found.

 

I post here some photographs of the cemetery in general. It is not possible to identify many of the graves and those I can name may not be WW1 or even military, I list them anyway for future researchers and interest.

 

Thomas Penwarden

Joseph Trainor

Frank Abey

William McGill

Lawrence Carter

Stanley Evans

-          Curtis

-          Cousins

Henry Knowles

Ronald Higgins

John ---t-on

David Biggs

Robert Miller

Charles Seymour

Reginald Verey

Alexander Craig

Oliver Jones

Thomas Liversage ?

-          Percival

Arthur Cronk

Frank Hall

Cyril Neeves

Albert Smith

John -----et (Crocket?)

Edited 20 August , 2017 by KONDOA

[KONDOA]

[KONDOA]

[GraemeClarke]

Morning,

 

Excellent photos, many thanks for posting,

 

Regards,

 

Graeme

[MaureenE]

There is a burial record for Mackenzie at Quetta on findmypast, and a separate Roman Catholic entry for Usher-Somers (not Ushers-Somers)

 

As far as I can see, he does not appear on the BACSA database http://bacsa.frontis.co/bin/index.php which contains index records from their Cemetery publications.

(I also could not see Usher-Somers/ Ushers-Somers)

This seems to imply he does not appear in the BACSA publication Quetta: Monuments and Inscriptions by Susan Farrington, 1992  which covers the cemeteries, town's history, the staff college, railways, churches and the 1935 earthquake.

 

So perhaps his grave had disappeared by 1992 when the book was published.

 

This book is available at the British Library, London, if ever you are able to check it out, or  FamilySearch have digitised it.  It has restricted access, but which may be viewed on a FamilySearch computer at a FamilySearch Centre. Catalogue entry. For more information, see FamilySearch Centres.

 

Unfortunately, there has been destruction of British monuments generally by fanatics in Quetta. For example  Quetta Sphinx (c1930)  thefridaytimes.com Photograph of the memorial known as the Quetta Sphinx for the Second Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment in respect of those who died in Baluchistan/Southern Afghanistan circa October 1880-January 1883. This memorial has now been destroyed.

 

Also, perhaps some graves/cemetery records may have been destroyed in the 1935 earthquake, or some other natural disaster.

 

Cheers

Maureen

 

[temptage]

On 20/08/2017 at 09:15, KONDOA said:

I post here some photographs of the cemetery in general. It is not possible to identify many of the graves and those I can name may not be WW1 or even military, I list them anyway for future researchers and interest.

3rd edit

Ive just been looking some of the names up on Ancestry and from the ones I can find, they are all RAF men who died when their camp was destroyed in the earthquake.

Edited 10 May , 2022 by temptage

[rflory]

From The Lancing Register, Third Edition, Volume II:

Lieutenant Edward Charrington Mackenzie, RGA was born on 15 March 1898, the son of H. Mackenzie of Guildford. He was educated at Lancing College from Sept. 1911 to April 1915 (House Captain, 1914; Corporal in OTC). Gentleman Cadet, Royal Military College, Woolwich in 1915. Commissioned RGA. Served in East Africa with 545 Siege Battery, RGA.D  Died as a result of an airplane accident in India on 16 May 1924.