Somer farm cemetery

[Ancre1917]

Does anyone have access to the various grave burial forms for Somer farm cemetery in Belgium?  I'm looking to see if there are any clues to the exact location of 2nd Lt. R.P. Smith's grave (8th North Staffordshire regiment) who now has a special memorial saying that he is known to be buried there.  Presumably the grave was lost due to shell fire, as were a number of Australian graves that were found and properly marked in the 1990s.  He was kia on 5 August 1917.

Thanks in advance

Richard

 

Richard

[LDT006]

Can't find anything special for Smith.

The original documents show only two names for collective grave A.12, two names have been added to this grave in February 1996 (doc1832496). 

I can mail a file with all GRRF forms if this might help.

Luc.

[Ancre1917]

Thanks Luc. I’ll send a pm with my email address

Richard

[abbrover]

Hi Richard

I have been researching the lads who are buried in Somer Farm Cemetery and Somer Farm Cemetery No.2 (now incorporated into Whytschaete Military Cemetery, since about 1994. Initially the research was begun my a very dear friend of mine and Vietnam veteran Peter Wallace Jones, and then he asked me to help. At that particular time, Peter said he had most of the information he could get on the 20 "Diggers" buried in the cemetery, but was struggling to get information on the British lads buried there. He was the man who was responsible for getting the four Australian's who's grave had been lost through shell-fire between April-September 1918, re-established on two new CWGC headstone's in 1996, and who are buried next his Grandfather - 2919 Lance Corporal Wallace Alfred Jones. The area where Second Lieutenant Ralph Pritchard Smith would have originally been buried with in the plot to the right of the Cross of Sacrifice in Row's A - C, where 13 other casualties are buried from 8th Bn North Staffordshire Regiment (the 1918 burials begin on this side with the Australians, but move over to the left hand plot). All of the earliest burial's began on the far right of the cemetery, in June 1917. As I have already indicated, Somer Farm Cemetery did receive damage through shell-fire between April-September 1918, when Whytscaete was temporarily re-occupied by the German's, and this is why 5348 Lance Corporal John Frederick Keith Comb, 3234B Private George Rowland James Hill, 3189 Private Stanley Johnson Mears, and Private Ralph Pendleton's grave's were lost (thanks to Peter, I have conclusive proof of this), as well as the graves of Second Lieutenant Ralph Pritchard Smith 8th North Staffs, 235106 Private Charles Henry Goodacre 8th North Staffs, 2752 Private Frederick Austin Davis Wilkes 53rd AIF' 1949 Private Merion Morton Moriarty 55th A.I.F., and 203628 Driver Albert Burgess 156th Heavy Batty. Royal Garrison Artillery. Driver Burgess would have almost certainly have been buried amongst the RGA lads in Row's A & B, and the two Australian's were almost certainly originally buried towards the centre of the cemetery. Private Goodacre would have probably have been originally buried next to or close to Second Lieutenant R. P. Smith. Somer Farm Cemetery was used to be located off the South Eastern corner (if you stand at the gate of the cemetery, the upper right corner), about 200 metres away, but contained less than 40 burials, so the lads buried here were re-buried in Whytschaete Military Cemetery. I currently have an on-going case (been going on for over two years now) with the CWGC to get an Unknown soldier buried here identified. Hope this helps Richard. If I can be of further help, I can be reached at threllers2000@yahoo.co.uk.

Regards

Pete Threlfall 

[Ancre1917]

Thanks for that Pete. It knocks my theory that he is in an unmarked grave next to Pte.  RP Smith (Glos Reg)  down, but it’s good to be accurate in these things. 
Richard