Exhumation and concentration

[jay dubaya]

Erected crosses found with no remains and removed to 'X cemetery'

 

From the above statement can I assume that no remains were found and the crosses - that are named to several soldiers, were removed to 'X cemetery', and if so, who lies under their headstones today?

 

J

[Peter Woodger]

At the time of the main concentration and clearance operations it was still not decided what to do about commemoration of the missing. One idea under consideration was that a headstone and grave site would be made to each unknown.so that memorial crosses and crosses where no body was found were taken to cemeteries and were to be erected in "Memorial Plots". When the cost and space of this solution was realised the concept was dropped and the memorials we know today were conceived. 

During wartime crosses were often erected on the battlefield to the memory of men who had been killed in the area but no body was under the cross, These crosses could sometimes be registered as the burial place of the named and next of kin were informed. When no body could be found during clearance the Army often said that so many unknown bodies had been recovered in the area that one must be the man commemorated so he was listed as "Believed to be buried" or even "Known to be buried" in this cemetery.

Peter

[jay dubaya]

Thank you Peter, that's cleared that one up and one of the soldiers in question has a know grave. I wasn't aware of the proposed idea for the commemoration of the missing regarding the named crosses

 

Jon

[andrew pugh]

Hi John

Also men are listed  as "Believed to be buried at this Spot"

 

Regards

Andy

[Ian Harrison06]

Hi Peter i. New this forum haven't clue how works .anyhow I'm interested reading learning about burial parties and how they recorded number men found and relocating bodies to official cemeteries I seen one ur old posts u have copy off all old burial sites can i obtain copy please if possible my email is Ianhrrsn160@gmail.com many thanks Ian also can u advise me were I'd get copy maps that shows number bodies found in each grid reference thanks again 

[2ndCMR]

Crosses were sometimes scattered by shellfire or other causes and later "put back" where it was thought they should be, but not necessarily where they had been.  French and Belgian farmers were known to sometimes remove grave markers from their fields and just plow the area over.  There seems to have been some miscommunication as to what would happen to the battlefield graves in the end and the farmers may have feared they would remain there forever, obstacles to the plow etc.  And of course some farmers were not particularly keen on soldiers or anything to do with them, regardless of where they were from.