In From The Cold - 22.05.07

[Terry Denham]

CWGC added the following 'new' WW1 casualty to its Debt of Honour database today – Tuesday 22nd May.

Pte Francis BLAKE

20/272 20 Bn, West Yorkshire Regt

Died 03.07.19 Age 22

Buried: Bradford (Bowling) Cemetery, Yorkshire, UK

NOT FORGOTTEN

[elainemaul]

Hi Terry,

That is good to hear. As you say, Not Forgotten.

Perhaps this has been asked elsewhere, so apologies if it has ...... but what evidence/process has to be gone through to add someone?

Is a similar process involved in correcting anything on their database?

Thanks

Elaine

[Terry Denham]

The person making the application has to provide sufficent official documentary evidence to prove qualification.

This is easier for a casualty who was still serving at death - often just the death certificate will suffice. It gets harder if you are trying to make a case for someone who died after discharge. You have to prove that they were in the services during the qualifying period and that their death after discharge but during the qualifying period was attributable to their service. This can be easier said than done. You can use a death certificate, service record, pension record etc. This can be backed up by other military documents - war diaries, MIC etc. However, proving the link between cause of death and service is sometimes impossible.

CWGC pass the case to the relevant department of MoD (Army, RN, RM or RAF) or the equivalent in Australia etc and they make the decision. CWGC is then informed of the result.

Amendements to the database simply involve proving the case to CWGC. If an error is traceable to a mistake on their part, it can be fixed immediately. Sometimes further investigation may be needed involving other agencies which can take time. However, you always have to provide the evidence. CWGC will not easily change the original information supplied by the military and even less so information supplied by relatives.

[elainemaul]

Thanks for that information Terry.

I only asked because, in investigating the memorial in Tottenham cemetery, at least one person is down as being an incorrect nationality (understandably 'cos they are serving with a foreign regiment) and yet looking at the information supplied by the relatives and also looking at the censuses, the person is pretty obviously British. Because they're not on the database as British, I wondered whether anyone trying to find him within his family would selectively search just in British serving people and not find him.

(Quite apart from liking to think that the data is accurate )

Elaine

[Terry Denham]

Elaine

I suspect that you are unaware of the situation re nationality in the CWGC database.

The 'nationality' does NOT refer to the nationality of the person but to the nationality of the force to which they belong. Therefore an Australian serving in a UK regiment is listed as British. If a British man is serving in an Indian unit, he is listed as Indian.

CWGC could not possibly know the nationality of each individual person. The 'Nationality' is only recorded by CWGC for financial purposes as it is by the 'nationality' numbers that each member country pays its portion of the costs.

[Will O'Brien]

Raising a glass to the memory of Francis.

[toffo]

may he rest in peace, Not Forgotten

[SilverSoldier]

Pte. Francis Blake.

Rest In Peace.

Remembered With Honour.

Terry W.