Unknown soldier burials in the UK

[Matlock1418]

1 hour ago, PaulC78 said:

Just a thought, but the IFCP website lists all war grave cemeteries and gives the numbers for each type of grave, including the unknowns. You would have to search for this information manually, but it's there if anyone needs it.

Paul,

Thanks for posting.

But ... I am not the quickest at picking up searches !! [So please bear with me]

Looks like you need to know the cemetery for a starter.

Have thus visited IFCP and looked at Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, which is of interest, and there are 1030 Unknowns out of 2613 [with 1583 Knowns/Named]

How do you get Unknowns' plot details? 

For that matter how would you find 1 out of 1 in a cemetery with one Unknown?

Can you get such details off the IFCP database?  

In hope ...

M

Edited 24 April , 2022 by Matlock1418
typo

[PaulC78]

You can search for specific cemeteries by name, or browse by country & area. If you want specific plot details you would need to contact CWGC.

I imagine this would be more useful for tracking down unknowns in the UK (what this topic was originally about), rather than the many who are buried overseas. For example, having skimmed though the cemeteries for Lancashire I've found two unknowns from WW1, one at Barrow-in-Furness (Thorncliffe) Cemetery and one at Manchester Southern Cemetery.

[Matlock1418]

11 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

You can search for specific cemeteries by name, or browse by country & area.

11 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

I imagine this would be more useful for tracking down unknowns in the UK (what this topic was originally about)

Thanks for clarifying. Agreed.

11 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

If you want specific plot details you would need to contact CWGC.

Therein can possibly be a potential problem. ??? [See the CWGC response reposted above]

12 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

having skimmed though the cemeteries for Lancashire I've found two unknowns from WW1, one at Barrow-in-Furness (Thorncliffe) Cemetery and one at Manchester Southern Cemetery.

My recent e-mail to CWGC [see in my post above] and the apparently/presumably comprehensive [?] reply revealed both burials.

The Barrow-in-Furness (Thorncliffe) Cemetery one is: Seaman. Royal Navy. 9 October 1917. Grave Reference: IV. 2977 and the Manchester Southern Cemetery one is a Soldier, listed above.

M

[PaulC78]

34 minutes ago, Matlock1418 said:

Therein can possibly be a potential problem. ??? [See the CWGC response reposted above]

I suppose it depends on the nature of the request, and perhaps also on who picks up the request on their end. It doesn't seem that surprising to me that they wouldn't be willing to collate vast amounts of data merely to satisfy one enquiry.

On the other hand, they did provide the data for your request regarding WW1 unknowns in the UK and Ireland. Just for future reference, is there any chance you can post the spreadsheets they sent you?

[Matlock1418]

28 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

I suppose it depends on the nature of the request, and perhaps also on who picks up the request on their end. It doesn't seem that surprising to me that they wouldn't be willing to collate vast amounts of data merely to satisfy one enquiry.

But if they have it, and it seems they do, then why not publish?

26 minutes ago, PaulC78 said:

On the other hand, they did provide the data for your request regarding WW1 unknowns in the UK and Ireland. Just for future reference, is there any chance you can post the spreadsheets they sent you?

Not sure I know how to post as .xls spreadsheets.

I did put up today as two new threads/listings in this sub-forum- Will they not copy or migrate to spreadsheets?

M

 

[PaulC78]

5 minutes ago, Matlock1418 said:

I did put up today as two new threads/listings in this sub-forum

I see them now, thanks for that - very interesting!

7 minutes ago, Matlock1418 said:

But if they have it, and it seems they do, then why not publish?

I can only speculate as much as the next person. Obviously they have the data, but not necessarily what someone is asking for in a neat, easy to distribute format without spending x amount of time pulling it together when they are most likely understaffed and have other priorities.

It's unfortunate that they don't make this information more accessible on their website, but in recent years they have added foreign casualties to their database, so who knows what they might do in the future?