Unknown Soldiers - where did they fall ?

[Derbys]

Hello,

My great grandfather was killed in action at Guillement on 19th August 1916 serving with the 2nd Suffolks - no known grave although we know exactly which trench he was in on that day.  In the nearby cemetery are graves to unknown soldiers of the Suffolk regiment and my question is this,:  would there have been records relating to each of these graves which indicate where the unidentifed body was actually found ? 

A long shot but thought I'd ask.

Thanks.

[jonbem]

I would guess that CWGC would have records of those "Soldier of the Great War" or "known unto God".

There may well be "concentration" documents relating to then also

e.g my Great Uncle Fred was concentrated to a cemetery from his original burial location

see example of his, scroll down then under the "concentration" tab

https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/269877/ward,-/

 

regards

Jon

[John_Hartley]

2 hours ago, Derbys said:

would there have been records relating to each of these graves which indicate where the unidentifed body was actually found ? 

Not necessarily.

 

If their bodies were simply recovered from the battlefield at the time and buried there, further detail is most unlikely. On the other hand, if the bodies were "concentrated" there after original  burial at another location, or if the bodies were discovered during the postwar battlefield clearances, some info may be held. Are there known Suffolks in the cemetery, or those oif units fighting adjacent to them on the day? If so, then I suggest you look up all of them and check if there are any "GRave Registration Unit" documentation attache dot their burial. These documents often list several bodies inlcuding whatver ID there is for them.

[Derbys]

Very interesting, I'll pursue further. Thanks both. 

[Phil Evans]

Derbys,

 

You didn't say which cemetery, but if it is Guillemont Road Cemetery, I managed to find 95 Concentration of Graves, Burial Return (COG-BR) documents, in one batch. There may be more, but I haven't pinned them all down yet.

 

It takes time, but this is a handy tool, courtesy of the GWF's Richard Laughton: Click here.

It does work with the new CWGC layout as well - I just tried it.

 

Phil

Edited 13 November , 2017 by Phil Evans

[Derbys]

Thanks Phil, I really appreciate you taking the time to help. I'll definitiley be getting to grips with this. Thanks again. Chris 

[Phil Evans]

Chris,

 

I've PM'ed you with a link to my COG-BR Binder for Guillemont Road. I managed to find another batch of images in the end.

 

Phil

[andrew pugh]

Hi Derbys

Next time you go to the cemetery at Guillemont make a note of the grave locations, row, grave number then contact the C W G C and give them the grave locations and ask if they were concentrated. If they were concentrated ask them for the map location where they were found. It has helped me out in the past.

Regards

Andy 

[Derbys]

Thanks Andy and Phil, both very helpful and I'm grateful. Thanks again. Chris