Dates on headstones

[Matt Dixon]

I noticed some Unknown headstones yesterday that carry specific dates.

Was this the date the body was discovered, or was it the date the body was actually killed?

[swizz]

I noticed some Unknown headstones yesterday that carry specific dates.

Was this the date the body was discovered, or was it the date the body was actually killed?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I always thought this was the date of death. Presumably the date a body was found could be any time between when the man died and the present day. I would have though that ascertaining when someone died is really a separate issue to being able to identify who he was.

Swizz

[Paul Reed]

In some cases it is the date found; although to my knowledge this is not listed in any publicly available document. It might appear in the original burial records held by CWGC, but which are not currently available.

[Terry Denham]

Those with a date were known to have died on specific days according to army records passed to CWGC. Often the bodies (or parts) were simply unidentifiable before being buried by the army.

It is also possible that army records sometimes listed a 'found' date as date 'died' in some instances where this was shortly after actual death.

[Matt Dixon]

Thanks for the replies gents.