A unique headstone - Pheasant's Wood?

[robertb]

Inscription:

"Loved and long honoured by his family for his deeds in World War 1"

 

[jonbem]

I think he must have been one of those identified by family DNA after the recovery of several from a mass grave in 2010

(see Boot : Pheasant Wood mass grave, Fromelles | Australian War Memorial (awm.gov.au))

If you look at the the headstone document on CWGC Casualty Details | CWGC

It looks like it was ordered in 2012

 

Casualty Details | CWGC

[dah]

There is a fascinating contrast between the grave inscriptions chosen by relatives in the 1920's.... versus many of those in Pheasant Wood Cemetery chosen by relatives 90+ years later.

The pictured example is heartwarming and uncontroversial

Many others at Pheasant Wood are much less so..... understandably filtered through the intervening history of world events, the long-term impact on the family and questioning whether the sacrifice of their ancestor was worthwhile.

Pheasant Wood is well worth a visit!

David

 

[Bruce L]

16 hours ago, dah said:

There is a fascinating contrast between the grave inscriptions chosen by relatives in the 1920's.... versus many of those in Pheasant Wood Cemetery chosen by relatives 90+ years later.

The pictured example is heartwarming and uncontroversial

Many others at Pheasant Wood are much less so..... understandably filtered through the intervening history of world events, the long-term impact on the family and questioning whether the sacrifice of their ancestor was worthwhile.

Pheasant Wood is well worth a visit!

David

 

Well said David - my great grandfather was identified in 2016 and is buried in Pheasant Wood Cemetery. He was one of the 200 plus Australians who were discovered earlier in the nearby mass grave. As family, we were asked to provide an inscription for his headstone. A cousin of mine insisted on "For Queen, for King, for Country" which I wasn't really too impressed with. His insistence that the Queen was to be included was to indicate that he had also served in the Boer War with the Queensland Mounted Infantry. I think that this would be lost on anybody reading this epitaph - it just wouldn't register that this was a reference to Queen Victoria and the Boer War. We could have chosen something more meaningful and relevant. A lost opportunity.