I saw this gravestone ion Seaford yesterday he was 86 when he died he must have been 46 in 1915 ?

[arantxa]

Thanks 

[George Rayner]

Cant find anything about him! He died 1953 according to official notice so 48 in 1915?

 

George

[arantxa]

I saw a grave at hill 60 many years ago of an old chap who hadn’t wanted to be buried with his original pals.  But this chap was very old.  It’s in Seaford main cemetery 

Sorry mid type he had wanted ( I guess most don’t want to be buried lol )

[familyhistoryman]

There is a family tree on Ancestry that has an image of his marriage certificate for 5 Dec 1917 at Walton on Thames - Rifleman NZRB 3Bn aged 49. There is also a note stating he lost both legs

 

There is also is army record on Ancestry - enlisted 15 Mar 1916

 

Tony

 

 

 

[George Rayner]

I'll look again! Maybe my sub is covering it!

 

George

[arantxa]

How awful for him ... I guess he ended up in Seaford 

[George Rayner]

Tony can you send a link please? He doesn't show up on my search

 

George

[arantxa]

In sone other country’s on graves do they mention if they were a veteran ?

[George Rayner]

I think I have seen some in Northern France but my memory is unreliable at the best of times

 

George

[corisande]

You can get his full service record on the New Zealand Government site - for free

 

https://ndhadeliver.natlib.govt.nz/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE15173728

[George Rayner]

Thanks Corisande-much obliged

 

George

[corisande]

He had a grim time with wounds

 

[George Rayner]

Certainly did

 

George

[corisande]

He married an English woman, which , I assume is why he stayed in England after demob

 

 

He got married after the amputations. She may have been a nurse

Edited 25 March , 2020 by corisande

[corisande]

His early life

 

[familyhistoryman]

This the link to the family tree and record on ancestry. I found him under the name of Harry 

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/?name=Harry_Francou&birth=1871&birth_x=0-0-0_1-0&count=50&name_x=1_1

Tony

[familyhistoryman]

12 minutes ago, corisande said:

He married an English woman, which , I assume is why he stayed in England after demob

 

 

He got married after the amputations. She may have been a nurse

At the time of the marriage his wife’s occupation was given as domestic 

Tony

[Marilyne]

wow… great story here. A brave man!!

For me it's the first time I see a CWGC-like headstone for a veteran. They are not in the database.

May I guess the family had a stone like that made, to honour his service?

 

M.

[corisande]

 

[Marilyne]

that does make it even more poignant, doesn't it?? An old soldier passing on Armistice Day…

 

M.

[arantxa]

Yes I agree next nov 11th i will put some flowers or wreath on his grave the stone is correct shape but obviously not same material as Ww1 

im guessing after all he went through the least he deserved was a military funeral

[david murdoch]

4 hours ago, Marilyne said:

wow… great story here. A brave man!!

For me it's the first time I see a CWGC-like headstone for a veteran. They are not in the database.

May I guess the family had a stone like that made, to honour his service?

 

M.

Marilyne.

This style of soldiers headstone is quite common in New Zealand for old soldiers who died out with the timeframe of the CWGC for the world wars.  I suspect by the style of this one it was paid for by the New Zealand RSA (equivalent to Royal British Legion), but made in the UK with local stone. The ones in New Zealand look to be made out of grey granite and very similar to the granite CWGC stones seen in Scotland. See some photos for comparison. They can also be seen for WW2, Boer War and Korea.

There is a volunteer group in New Zealand who clean and restore these stones as they are not covered by the CWGC.

https://www.facebook.com/nzwargraves/

 

Edited 25 March , 2020 by david murdoch

[familyhistoryman]

I found this posting very interesting and a good example of how useful the GWF can be

Tony

[sassenach]

Yes, indeed. Very interesting and poignant.

[Marilyne]

thanks, David… each day a new lesson

 

M.