How many 'in from the cold'.

[Drummy]

I read with interest the many posts re 'in from the cold' and posts to do with non commemorations. Well done to Terry and Chris for creating this new topic section. I also note the good work done by the enthusiasts who have got a lot of RN & RND non comms rectified. I have brought a possible non comm to the attention of Terry Denham who has very kindly progressed and submitted the matter for consideration by the MOD. The soldier in particular being a Harry Booth. Cpl 228351, 1st/1st (City of London) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers who was KIA 20th September 1917. I look forward to the result on this one in due course.

I would be very interested to know how many cases of non commemoration are confirmed as accepted by the CWGC each year if such stats are kept and if the rise in Great War research since the release of various records has caused this annual figure to continually rise.

One thing that does strike me is that with the many sources to identify likely non commemorations such as SDGW (flawed as it may be) and the overseas death index that there are still many service personnel missing from CWGC commemoration. Though with no official body with responsibility to pro-actively research to identify these I can see why many will remain truly missing. It must have been the sheer scale of casualties in WW1 and the reliance on manual recording only that accounts for the many non comms.

Thanks Neil.

[Terry Denham]

Neil

Nobody knows how many are missing. That is obvious. Any guesses are just a waste of time.

SDGW is not reliable enough to be of any use other than as a back up.

However, I have a germ of an idea concerning GRO (watch this space).

Of course, amongst the post-discharge men, there will always be cases where a researcher believes they qualify but officialdom does not. These can never be resolved.

I will be checking BOOTH tomorrow.

[Drummy]

Thanks Terry. I am intrigued with your GRO idea and many thanks re Booth. My query re figures was actually to know how many CWGC accept (as a result of MOD or commonwealth agency approval) as new commemorations, to be added to memorials or headstones fitted, each year and whether there had been an increase yearly in the numbers now deemed new commemorations due to the number of great war enthusiasts and increased accessibility of records.

All the best Neil.

[Terry Denham]

Neil

There is no set figure. The number varies for all sorts of reasons.

It is a fact that the number will have increased due to the greater availabilty of records online and in computerised format making comparisons easier.

It is interesting that there are rarely any 'In From the Cold' additions for WW2. Record keeping had improved and CWGC had 'done it before' by the time the second disaster struck.