Newfoundland Unknown Soldier

[jay dubaya]

I suspect it’s a secret but does anyone know the name of the cemetery the remains were exhumed from? 
just interested to know if he may be a 1st July casualty.

[thetrenchrat22]

8 hours ago, jay dubaya said:

I suspect it’s a secret but does anyone know the name of the cemetery the remains were exhumed from? 
just interested to know if he may be a 1st July casualty.

 I’ve read a number of articles about this and one statement stands out 

We are proud that the unknown soldier who will honour all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who served and sacrificed, will come from the regiment, and the sacred battlefield at Beaumont Hamel," added Lt.-Col. Lawrence Hatfield, commanding officer of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment.

I don’t think it will be a secret for long as with other unknown soldiers from Australia, Canadian and New Zealand 

 

 

[jay dubaya]

Thanks for that. Of all the statements I’d read not one mentioned a 1st July casualty and it may explain why Y Ravine was cordoned off last week. Now to find which actual grave it was.

[thetrenchrat22]

I would suspect that the unknown came from Y Ravine Cemetery and from the 1st July 1916.  as the newspaper, all point to a Newfoundland Soldier, so we can say the soldier was killed before December 1917. 

I wonder why, the CWGC have not released the details of the cemetery involved and the grave details.  Sooner or later, its all gone come out.  like we no know, where the graves of the Unknowns for Australia, Canada and New Zealand came from,  

[MelPack]

News report of the exhumation:

 

[jay dubaya]

Thanks for posting that, although I had already seen this report along with a couple of others. Can I assume the CWGC will erect a memorial stone in place of the original headstone or will the space above ground be left vacant?

[TonyOno]

The replacement headstone was on display at CWGC Experience. My understanding is that it will be put in place on July 1st.

[jay dubaya]

That’s really useful to know and many thanks for the image. I assume this stone will sit over the now vacant grave.

[TonyOno]

That is correct. My understanding is that it will be replaced on 1st July.

[thetrenchrat22]

I emailed the CWGC about the cemetery the unknown Newfoundland soldier came from and this is there reply, which I have just received 

The CWGC was extremely proud to work with its member Governments in order that the historic project to repatriate the Newfoundland Unknown Soldier could be successfully completed. 

Our Director of Commemorations has confirmed that in order to help preserve the perpetual anonymity of the Newfoundland Soldier, the CWGC will not be able to comment on the original grave location – this has been agreed jointly with the Canadian and Newfoundland Authorities. 

We trust that you will understand the reason for this decision. 

Kind regards

Argyro Francis (Mrs)
Customer Service Advisor

[jay dubaya]

Thanks for the continued input. I’m not surprised by that response from the CWGC. The original grave location will become apparent in the near future so why the secrecy?

[TonyOno]

On the bright side, I have been enjoying researching and speculating on potential cemeteries!

[thetrenchrat22]

23 hours ago, jay dubaya said:

Thanks for the continued input. I’m not surprised by that response from the CWGC. The original grave location will become apparent in the near future so why the secrecy?

I was surprised at the response, to be honest I had to read it twice to understand what was being said.  
 

[jay dubaya]

I can't find the report now, but I recently read a quote from a Newfoundland Memorial Park Guide stating it was all done in secrecy and the ground left as if it had never been distured. I note the Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Unknown Soldier's all have headstones with appropriate wording marking the original grave. With that in mind there is no reason to think the same will not apply with Newfoundlands.

Since my curiousity often gets the better of me and reading between the lines of the CWGC reply suggests an urgency to complete the process of the unveiling in Newfoundland and the setting of the new stone in France before the speculation of who he may be begins. 

[Frajohn]

Headstone now in place at the original grave.

 

Edited 3 July by Frajohn

[TonyOno]

Which cemetery?

[thetrenchrat22]

12 minutes ago, TonyOno said:

Which cemetery?

Just seen this on Facebook 

[TonyOno]

Darn. I had bet on Knightsbridge or Ancre as there were a larger number of unknowns there. 

[thetrenchrat22]

Looking at the photograph and the late Richard Laughton work 
 

the grave is in Plot 3, Row A and there are 3 unknown Newfoundland Soldiers in Graves 6, 7 and 9 

123 Private Bernard Ryan is buried in Plot 3, Row A, Grave 19 and he was killed in Action on the 14th April 1917.  

 

[TonyOno]

Is there a link (or links) to his work? I'm trying to determine how many unknown Nfld graves there are (and hopefully establish an accurate count of known and unknown)...amongst my other projects!

[TonyOno]

1 hour ago, thetrenchrat22 said:

Looking at the photograph and the late Richard Laughton work 
 

the grave is in Plot 3, Row A and there are 3 unknown Newfoundland Soldiers in Graves 6, 7 and 9 

123 Private Bernard Ryan is buried in Plot 3, Row A, Grave 19 and he was killed in Action on the 14th April 1917.  

 

Looking for links to the late Richard Laughton's work (I have some threads).

[Poppy Mercier]

I had some friends who randomly visited Cagnicourt whilst on their way back from Cambrai and spotted the new headstone. Naturally I got a flurry of messages from them going “look what we found!!” 
I’m going to assume it all comes down to ease of exhumation and making sure he could never be ID’d. I find it odd that the CWGC don’t want to release the location of his grave yet have installed a memorial / grave marker there anyway 🤔

[TonyOno]

I was thinking the same thing, but got to wondering if perhaps the CWGC was simply deferring to the Governments of Canada/ Newfoundland & Labrador? A mute point now as it's out there.

[WhiteStarLine]

On 04/07/2024 at 04:56, TonyOno said:

Looking for links to the late Richard Laughton's work

Tony, Richard was a prolific researcher and publisher so there is no single place to go.  Start at the CEFSG and read his threads.  Also his and others' work on the COG-BR (Concentration of Graves - Burial Reports) and his work on the White Cross Atlas (now georeferenced).

The search engine phrase cefsg laughton will get you started.  His obituary is a nice read too - a very sad day for all of us here.

Cheers, Bill

[TonyOno]

Thanks, Bill; very much appreciated! I have found quite a bit if the excellent work he did. I am amazed by the breadth and depth of his (and others on this site). I was looking for some documents in his work on the  CWGC unknown lists. Specifically, I'm trying to get an exact number of unknown Newfoundland Regiment Graves. Thanks again for your reply, it has been most helpful!