Matt Dixon Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 Having acquired a photo of a headstone that simply states " A Welsh soldier of the Great War" I wondered how one could ascertain that the body was Welsh. I can understand Scottish soldiers where peices of tartan may be found with the body, why not simply " A Soldier of the Great War, A Welsh Regiment"? The only theory I can think of is some personal artifact found with remains? Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD60 Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 Hello , Good question ! I see several possible reasons. a) I suppose that part of the uniform was available to identify a unit. For exemple badge. There are also graves like this : a corporal of the great war. Very probably part of the uniform with the rank on the arm was available. A personal effect give a clue, but not the name. Could be a letter with an unreadable name. c) I could imagine also that the body was first identified but because of battles the name was lost. I mean we often see in cemeteries in memory of soldier NNNNNN whose grave is now lost. (destroyed in latter battles). It may happen that after the war Grave Services knows there was there some graves of a unit there, find some of the bodies but impossible to identify really the names. d) Maybe also because the soldier number on his identity badge was partly readable. e) Other possibility; because at the end of a fight you know that all deads of the day in this area are coming from one unit. Therefore it was possible to say this is a soldier of this unit but no name. .. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Bruce Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 Matt, I've often wondered the same thing about Scottish unknowns. I've always suspected that a more accurate statement would be 'A soldier of a Scottish unit', since I presume the only source of identification that gives this particular level of identification must be insignia or a scrap of tartan. Not every soldier in a Scottish unit was Scottish. Doubtless Terry Denham can give chapter and verse. Jock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 Having acquired a photo of a headstone that simply states " A Welsh soldier of the Great War" I wondered how one could ascertain that the body was Welsh. I can understand Scottish soldiers where peices of tartan may be found with the body, why not simply " A Soldier of the Great War, A Welsh Regiment"? The only theory I can think of is some personal artifact found with remains? Any ideas? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> This may well be just for reasons of economy - not just financial economy, but also economy of language. " A Welsh soldier of the Great War" needs the addition of one word over and above the normal "unidentified" wording. " A Soldier of the Great War, A Welsh Regiment" need three extra words. The same applies for unidentified soldiers who were clearly members of Scottish units. I agree that the phrase " A Welsh Soldier of the Great War" could be taken to imply that the soldier is actually a Welshman, but I think it's pretty clear that the CWGC didn't intend this. After all, it's obvious that no-one could possibly know. Tom Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armourersergeant Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 When I saw some of these whilst away the other week it never occured to me that it meant nationality in these sort of instances. I assumed it meant of a Welsh/Scottish regiment. Though when it said Canadian i automatically assumed nation! Just goes to show how daft my mind is. I think it must mean though that they wore an artifact that denoted a welsh etc regiment. I wonder though if there is say a unknown artilleryman, how would he be designated? Lets hope Terry can shed some light pondering Arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 My guess would be: (R. A. Badge) A Soldier of the Great War Royal Artillery Known Unto God Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Thompson Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 An earlier thread HERE may help to give some of the answers. Marc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armourersergeant Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 Tom, Guess you are correct. Marc, The older thread says it all. I must start using that search button! regards Arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 8 May , 2005 Share Posted 8 May , 2005 Do not confuse the word 'Welsh' with the nationality of the soldier. It has nothing at all to do with the soldier being Welsh - although he may well have been. It simply indicates that he was from a Welsh unit. CWGC's use of 'nationalities' only refers to the unit and not the man. The change from the use of 'Welsh Soldier' (or 'Scottish' etc) to 'Unknown Soldier of a Welsh Regiment' is simply a recognition of the first version being possibly misinterpreted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Dixon Posted 9 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2005 Tom, Terry, Mark, Arm Thanks for the replies, I can sleep well now knowing that one of those things that bugs me in the wee small hours has been answered! Tom, the school master in you still comes through!!!!!! Kind regards to you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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