Hooge Crater Cemetery

[sugerand]

Only 76 soldiers were originally burried at Hooge Crater cemetery when it was created in Oct 1917. Where were the other soldiers bodies brougt from? If a body was unearthed on the battlefield after the war would it be moved to the nearest existing cemetery?

thanks for any help.

Sue

[Terry Denham]

About a dozen smaller cemeteries were cleared after the war and the men moved to Hooge Crater Cemetery.

Men were not always moved to the nearest cemetery. As the clearance process progressed many cemeteries were closed to new burials and so men were moved to the nearest open cemetery which could often be some distance away.

Some of those cleared to Hooge were....

Bass Wood Cemeteries No.1 & No.2

K.O.S.B. Cemetery

Koelenberg German Cemeteries

Kruiseecke German Cemetery

La Chapelle Farm

Menin Road Pillbox Cemetery

Nieue Kruiseecke Cabaret Cemetery

Pillbox Cemetery

Sanctuary Wood Old British Cemetery

Tower Hamlets Cemetery

Westhoek Ridge Small Cemetery

[Aurel Sercu]

Sue,

I have been doing this research with regard to where smaller cemeteries or burial places were taken in the years after the war, and it is rather 'traumatizing'.

I have the names of a dozen cemeteries that were moved to Hooge Crater Cemetery (from the original CWGC-register). If you add the numbers this totals 462 moved graves. But ... 5,800 were taken to Hooge Crater Cemetery. What cemeteries did the 5,800 minus 462 come from ? I wish I knew.

The same for Tyne Cot Cemetery. Names of a dozen cemeteries taken there post war. Total number of moved graves in these 9 cemeteries : 172. But the original number of graves at TCC maybe was a hundred or so (behind the Cross of Sacrifice). Question : where did the 12,000 minus approx. 100 minus 172 come from ?

No, remains found on the battlefields after the war were not taken to the nearest cemetery. Whether there was a system in it, I don't know, but to me it looks unsystematic. Much depended on when that was, whether some cemeteries were still "open" etc.

Aurel

[Aurel Sercu]

Terry,

Sorry, you must have posted yours while I was still typing mine.

And as you are a fast typewriter ...

Aurel

[Terry Denham]

You need more practice, Aurel.

You are right to point out that there are more burials than are listed as coming from the named cemeteries. There must have been many from isolated graves, informal cemeteries or burial areas and possibly more from other cleared named cemeteries which have not been recorded.

[Peter Beckett]

Only 76 soldiers were originally burried at Hooge Crater cemetery when it was created in Oct 1917.

thanks for any help.

Sue

Terry,

This might answer a question I have. L/Cpl 19313 SS King and Sapper 153793 S Mugridge were killed in the German shelling early on the morning 1st Oct at the Butte, Polygon Wood and I have wondered why they were buried at Hooge which is not really close to the Butte.

Peter

[Peter Beckett]

Also their graves are quite a distance from the road which suggests a later burial (only guessing)

Peter

[BeppoSapone]

About a dozen smaller cemeteries were cleared after the war and the men moved to Hooge Crater Cemetery.

Men were not always moved to the nearest cemetery. As the clearance process progressed many cemeteries were closed to new burials and so men were moved to the nearest open cemetery which could often be some distance away.

Some of those cleared to Hooge were....

Terry

Are there records of where a soldier was originally buried before being moved to Hooge Crater?

My great uncle, Joe Bull, was killed on 14th October 1918.

His grave reference at Hooge Crater is XX. D. 8.

[Terry Denham]

CWGC hold many (not all) of the Burial Returns filed under the cemetery to where the bodies were taken.

If you contact them they may be able to tell you if the relevant documents still exist. It can take a long while to get an answer as they have to fit such enquiries around their everyday work and many of these records are currently away at any one time being digitised for internal use.

[BeppoSapone]

CWGC hold many (not all) of the Burial Returns filed under the cemetery to where the bodies were taken.

If you contact them they may be able to tell you if the relevant documents still exist. It can take a long while to get an answer as they have to fit such enquiries around their everyday work and many of these records are currently away at any one time being digitised for internal use.

Thanks Terry. Will do.

[stevem49]

Thanks Terry. Will do.

I was lucky with one of my men and got the map ref for his bodies location when found in Oct 1919.

Hope you are as lucky.

stevem

[6th Shropshires]

Hi Terry

CWGC hold many (not all) of the Burial Returns filed under the cemetery to where the bodies were taken.

Does this include the bodies which were not ID or partly ID. I emailed the CWCG about six months ago, asking if they had such returns for these unknowns who have been ID as K.S.L.I. soldiers. I am sure I could at lest work out which K.S.L.I. battalion a unknown K.S.L.I. lad came from, if I knew where they were found, ok it may not work in all cases but I would have a interesting time trying. But the CWGC have never got back to me and I have not tryed asking them again bacause I know they are busy people. I also told them I would be willing to pay for a CD with all unknown K.S.L.I. map references.

Annette