Arras / Soissons Memorial Question

[tbirduk]

Dose anyone have images of Bay 01 of the Arras or the Soissons memorials?
If so, does it include Driver HOWELL H.T. of the Engineers? 
The CWGC database is confusing as it shows a Panel list created in 1928 as being on the ARRAS memorial
(I am not sure Arras was built then? It was not unveiled until 1932)
However the database claims he is on the Soissons Memorial which was unveiled in 1928 and appears more likely as both Howell and some of the others listed (randomly checked) died in 1918

[temptage]

If you have a look on his CWGC record, and then look at the Grave Registration form as opposed to the Panel List, you will see he is named in the list for the Arras Memorial, NOT Soissons. I do have a photo of Panel 1 at Soissons, but neither he, or any of the Royal Engineers, are named on the panel.

 

Contact the CWGC at                     enquiries (at) cwgc.org             and point out the error with as much detail as you can give them, and they should change his record. I reported an error to them yesterday, and today I received an email saying it had been corrected and will show up on the site within 24 hours.

[tbirduk]

Just to close up

 

Dear Mr Smee,

I must first explain that Driver Howell was originally commemorated on the Arras Memorial which is why a panel list appears against his entry on our website. Although the memorial was not built until slightly later, the panel lists were produced in 1928 in order to have the panels engraved and ready for assembly.

As part of some research undertaken, interestingly by myself, in the latter part of last year, it was uncovered that the Arras Memorial was not the correct commemoration and that his name should have been inscribed on the Soissons Memorial (also affected about 15 others). As such, his record was amended from Arras to Soissons as now appears on our website.

As the Arras panel list is an archival document on which his name appears and where his commemoration originally started it will remain against his entry on our website.

Since the time the amendments were carried out, all affected casualties now appear on either the Addenda Extension or appropriate panel of the Soissons Memorial.

I trust this answers your query.
 

Martin Skelly
Records Administrator Headstones

[temptage]

Could those details not be added to his, and the 15 others, records temporarily to explain the reason for the indiscrepancy in details shown? Much like when a casualty has been named elsewhere but his true burial location has been located?

 

Everyone deserves an explanation regarding their loved ones whereabouts.

 

Have the names been physically added to the Soissons Memorial now?

Edited 1 March , 2019 by temptage

[tbirduk]

Not sure why such information would be temporary? The 15 Entries will be as inexplicable in 100 years time as they are today.
 
 It is one of my complaints about the CWGC that the online database does not publicly display a record of changes made and rarely any indication that a change has been made. One would like to think that such an "activity log" is kept in the Archives against both the affected memorials and the individuals and they are not relying on someone remembering why the change was made.

As an example see the record at https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/757650/crosland,-william-philip/ which was amended following my research. At least there is an indication that it has been changed, but would it have been so difficult to include in the text a change date and which Memorial his name was previously on? Will the Grave Registration Books be amended and the new images displayed against his internet record?

[NigelS]

On 28/02/2019 at 15:33, tbirduk said:

...Since the time the amendments were carried out, all affected casualties now appear on either the Addenda Extension or appropriate panel of the Soissons Memorial.
Martin Skelly
Records Administrator Headstones

 

On 01/03/2019 at 11:58, temptage said:

Have the names been physically added to the Soissons Memorial now?

 

An interesting question.  Howell's name might now well appear on recent revisions to the main memorial - as currently indicated by the CWGC records, but in October last year  (2018) the 'Addenda Extension' was under construction (probably completed by now), so it may well be that his name has been added to that and not to the main memorial. Just to confuse matters further, some of the CWGC records for the memorial do give 'Addenda Extension' but this is not, at least currently, the case for Howell's record. The truth  of exactly where Howell is now commemorated at Soissons may only come to light when someone visits the Memorial.

 

 

 

Nigels