Returning the War Dead to their families

[Mark southgate]

Some time ago a Death Plaque to a Pte Percy Woodman Royal Warwickshire Regiment came in to my possession. I did the usual research etc and found his grave which is as luck would have it not a million miles away from where i live. A visit was made and respects paid. Skip forward a few years and with the ever increasing and improving access to records online i have since found even more about him especially his death. He died 5th September 1918 in the 4th Northern General Hospital Lincoln (some sources indicate from the effects of gas). His burial however took place in Warnham near Horsham. Now my question is (as it not my field) when a casualty dies on home soil does the family make arrangements for the body to be brought to the chosen place of burial, does the army arrange for it to be sent home or is it an organisation such as the CWGC that deals with it. Also is it Optional to bring the body where possible back to the family or is it more policy to bury them where practical. How did they transport the dead back to the family was it on the funeral trains, where they brought back on hospital trains in empty carriages or was it up to the families to make their own arrangements. My apologies if my questions seem obvious to those on this forum but as i say it is not my usual field of research and as such not really a topic i have given much thought to until recently.

[ilkley remembers]

I’m not sure that there is a simple answer to this question since the various costs associated with movement and interment of the body depended on whether or not the family wanted a private or military funeral.

 

If the deceased was buried at or near to the place of death then the military authorities would stand the full cost of a military funeral and burial. However, if the family requested the return of the body then they could decide upon either a military or private interment. If they chose to make their own arrangements then they would have to cover the cost out of their own pockets. However, there were grants which could cover some of the costs which were based upon the contract rate of a military funeral which could be as little as £1 4s.This small sum should be seen against the average cost of a funeral at that time which was about £10.

 

For men who been discharged from the services and who died from causes which resulted from their war service then a grant of £5 (1919) from the local pensions board could be claimde

 

A standard military coffin was a simple wooden box and there are reports that the deceased was packed inside with sawdust. Transport from place of death to family home was by train and would be paid for by the Government. However, a family could expect to be levied a charge which was based on the contract rate for a military funeral.

 

The family could chose to have a Imperial War Graves Commission headstone, which was supplied free of charge. A private memorial would be at the families own expense.

I R

[kenf48]

On 30/11/2021 at 16:23, Mark southgate said:

Now my question is (as it not my field) when a casualty dies on home soil does the family make arrangements for the body to be brought to the chosen place of burial, does the army arrange for it to be sent home or is it an organisation such as the CWGC that deals with it.

The CWGC or IWGC was not granted its charter until May 1917 by which time the issue of repatriation was settled

I've previously posted the text of the ACI from January 1915 on this earlier thread

There are a number of similar threads on the forum.  Essentially from the date of the ACI the military was prepared to pay for the transport of the body but the funeral arrangements were made by the family and paid for by them often assisted by local charitable societies. If the man died in hospital the Army made all the arrangements, next of kin could of course travel to the ceremony.  As for conveyance this would be on normal train services.