Clive Maier Posted 14 August , 2003 Share Posted 14 August , 2003 I was surprised to read in The Unending Vigil, Philip Longworth’s history of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, that the Graves Registration Commission began photographing graves as early as March 1915. At first this was done on request from the next-of-kin but the demand was such that the work was soon formalised into an effort to photograph all graves. Longworth records that the first 2,000 negatives, each showing four graves, had been produced before the end of August 1915. By the beginning of May 1916, some 2,500 photographs had been sent out. I have never come across these photographs in books or memorabilia. I wonder if they are commonly found in family effects? Does anyone know whether the originals survive as an archive somewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 14 August , 2003 Share Posted 14 August , 2003 Here's one, shown in two photos. The original was one sheet of card with the pre-printed details on the right and the photo stuck on the left. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Maier Posted 14 August , 2003 Author Share Posted 14 August , 2003 That's marvellous Tom. You have a speedy way with a scanner. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 14 August , 2003 Share Posted 14 August , 2003 Sorry for the poor quality by the way - they're scans of a photocopy of the real thing. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 15 August , 2003 Share Posted 15 August , 2003 I've never come across these officially either, but I suppose they must be somewhere. Here's the only one I've got, which was held by the relevant family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Maier Posted 17 August , 2003 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2003 Andrew, Thanks for that. The crosses shown in your photograph are just about as rudimentary as it is possible to get. They are much simpler than those in Tom’s photograph which are what I am used to seeing in published photographs and in churches. On wonders about the feelings of the families on seeing such a simple commemoration. On the other hand, it is amazing in the circumstances that so much was done so soon. What I took at first to be rough ground in your photograph looks on closer inspection like rows of poppies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 17 August , 2003 Share Posted 17 August , 2003 Clive, I was interested in your comments about the differences between the ornate and plain crosses. You may be interested to know that if you go back to my photo of the grave of 2/Lieut. Young, you will see two grave markers in the foreground - one is a black cross with 2/Lieut. Young's name. The other is a taller cross with a circle. This also marks the grave of 2/Lieut. Young although you can only read the inscription if you have the original photo. So this soldier has two grave-markers, one at each end of his grave, one plain and functional, the other slightly more decorative. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 19 August , 2003 Share Posted 19 August , 2003 They normally came in a little brown wallet. Here's an example below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christine liava'a Posted 19 August , 2003 Share Posted 19 August , 2003 There is an interesting photo in the Owen Archive of Waacs tending a cemetery Owen Archive- WAACs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Maier Posted 19 August , 2003 Author Share Posted 19 August , 2003 Paul, Christine, Thanks for those marvellous images. This forum is unbeatable. The crosses in Christine’s image look as rudimentary as those in Andrew Hesketh’s image. In some cases and in both photographs, the cross piece appears to be not even jointed to the upright but is simply nailed or screwed to the face. The ends of the cross are simply sawn straight and have no decoration whatsoever. By contrast, even the simple crosses in Tom Morgan’s image have a little shaping to the ends. The more ornate cross in Tom’s picture also appears to be timber; the construction is too frail for stone. The circle on this Celtic cross obviously requires some skill to make, and maybe some special tools. One sometimes sees the effect approximated on battlefield crosses by straight bracings placed in a diamond configuration. This would be much easier and much quicker to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Bluestein Posted 19 August , 2003 Share Posted 19 August , 2003 They normally came in a little brown wallet. Here's an example below: Paul, What a surprise to see this wonderful photo. I owned (past tense) the Military Medal, BWM & Vict medals, and Canadian Memorial Cross to this soldier! His MM was for April 9, 1917 (Vimy Rige). I recall the citation being very extraordinary. How did you come by this photo? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Bluestein Posted 19 August , 2003 Share Posted 19 August , 2003 (This soldier's name is incorrectly recorded as 'Cockbur' on the CWGC web site.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 19 August , 2003 Share Posted 19 August , 2003 David The name has now been corrected to COCKBURN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Bluestein Posted 20 August , 2003 Share Posted 20 August , 2003 David The name has now been corrected to COCKBURN Thank you Terry! Much appreciated. Regards David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 22 August , 2003 Share Posted 22 August , 2003 What a surprise to see this wonderful photo. I owned (past tense) the Military Medal, BWM & Vict medals, and Canadian Memorial Cross to this soldier! His MM was for April 9, 1917 (Vimy Rige). I recall the citation being very extraordinary. How did you come by this photo? David I bought this in a junk shop in the SE of England 20+ years ago... and have had it ever since. How strange you should have had his medals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest graeme gladwinfield Posted 4 May , 2004 Share Posted 4 May , 2004 Hi I was pointed to this forum as I have just discovered the enclosed picture Charles Gladwinfield KLR 6th Killed May 22 1915 So reading your discussion group, this may be too early to be formalised one any info useful Thanks Graeme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now