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Remembered Today:

Question about Etaples Military Cemetery


temptage

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Does anybody know of a reason why there is a break in plot numbers?

 

There are plots 1 - 38 and 45 - 72 but plots 39 - 44 are not to be found anywhere.

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interesting question.

Might be because between the start, the building according to plans and the eventual termintation, there were some holes, there were plots being put together... I don't know...

But will be curious to know the answer too as I'll be soon returning (well hope to at least) to Etaples to visit the women there.

 

M.

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The CWGC's history for this cemetery gives: By the latter part of the war, more than 2,500 women were serving at the Étaples base. Hailing from many parts of the British Empire as well as France and America...  Pure speculation on my part, but if there were originally any American servicemen buried here (WWI or II), as, post war, the US allowed the alternatives of repatriation or  removal to a  European ABMC cemetery, plots may have been emptied. Subsequently the vacated plots may have been reconfigured and used for other burials with the original plot numbers not  being re used to avoid confusion of records.    Although not in a war zone, Brookwood Military Cemetery here in the UK can be cited as an example (although not for missing plots numbers): The ABMC cemetery contains only concentrated WW1 American burials (those UK burials not later repatriated)  During WWII new plots were opened for American casualties which, post war, were  either repatriated to the US or moved to  the ABMC site at Madingley (today there are no ABMC WWII burials at Brookwood). A part of the vacated area was then re used for the  concentration of Italian WWII war dead. 

 

NigelS

 

 

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makes sense!!!!!

 

M.

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I emailed someone at the CWGC yesterday, and having asked around the in-house historians and basically anyone else they could find........

 

 

.......nobody knows.

 

He did say if he has time he will delve deeper to see if he can find any reason. 

 

Keep watching this space. 

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