Battlefield casualty notes

[doogal]

Hi,
This is the first post in many years, but hopefully it will reach the expertise I‘m looking for!

I have the details for a number of soldiers in the 5th West Riding Regiment, all of whom were KIA between 26th March 1918 and 31st March 1918. They were buried in the battlefield where they fell before being recovered the following year and re-buried. Some are noted as having crosses when the battlefield clearances brought them in to cemeteries, but I don‘t know if they all did, and whether some where simply lost during the battle.

For each surviving service record, noted directly as their deaths were written into their service records is a number Cxxxx. For some it is C1528, for another it is C1538, and for others it is C1540 and also C1523. These numbers are consistently placed across all surviving documentation. (At points, the „C“ may even be a „G“ for one, but it‘s the only one like this.)

It is worth noting that none of the wounded or any of those who died of wounds have this number.

Does anyone know what this type of number is and how/where it was generated?

My assumption thus far is this number is a form of casualty list number, possibly created at platoon level, and that it remained on these soldiers’ documentation on the basis that in 1918, they were still „missing“ or the body not officially recovered and accounted for.

Here are a couple of images form different forms showing this number.

With thanks for any insights. - and Happy New Year!

doogal

 

 

 

Edited 1 January , 2020 by doogal
Appalling typos

[doogal]

I may well be paying the price for a strategic error here - don’t post a question right on the turn of New Year!

 

So, I though I’d bump this one up to the top and pretend today is day one!

 

I’d be grateful for any input or insight the forum can give on the original post.

 

With thanks

doogal

[johnboy]

The first three entries appear to be a C. The last a G

Could the c denote communal grave and the G ,grave

[DavidOwen]

Hi Doogal

 

I have moved this in the hope you may get a better response.

 

Good luck!

 

David

[doogal]

Thanks David.

johnboy - I like the logic. I hadn’t considered that as a possibility. I’ll  check back with the grave references and see what that does. Much appreciated. 
doogal

[TEW]

Seems too much of a coincidence to me that you have 2 x KIA with C1528 then a reported missing with C1538 then a KIA with G1528. Is it possible the latter just looked a bit like a G to the clerk who wrote up the entry?

Otherwise they don't look like any casualty, missing etc references I've seen. My guess would be a graves unit reference to an exhumation or reburial list. Noting that your example #4 states 'body exhumed and 're buried.

TEW

[doogal]

That’s some good for thought. Six are on the Arras memorial for the missing.

those with known graves all have the additional exhumation note on them. 
to me there seems to be a unit-level logic to them somehow, but like you, I’ve not seen this in this way before. 
I wondered that they are not progressing umbers but composite:

c = casualty. The rest bring some kind of drill down for the 5th west ridings :

 1/5 battalion, company 2, platoon 8 (edit: upon reflection, this idea is nonsense)

but today, I have too much time on my hands and am coming up with ever more obscure guesses!
the g=c is a distinct possibility.

 

Edited 13 January , 2020 by doogal

[doogal]

I’m off to Kew soon to fit some more details around these KIA, so hopefully a logic will begin to emerge with a bit more work.

[Bardess]

They are Casualty Lists. An example:

 

 

[doogal]

Thanks Diane,

Any idea at what level these were generated th first instance? By the looks fo the list you have here, the number would be attributed far later than I first thought.

doogal