CWGC

[Christina]

After months of frustration trying to trace details of my Grandfather Robert Tucker, who survived WW1 with a wound [lost a leg]. I visited the CWGC site for details of one of his sons that was KIA in WW2. The son is Edwin J Tucker and he died in India. Imagine my surprise when the details came up on the screen and I clicked on "certificate", the details were Edwin J Tucker etc, then son of "JOHN" and Annie Tucker, husband of Mary Edith Tucker of Morden, Surrey. All is correct apart from the fact that my Grandfather was married as Robert Tucker, is listed as Robert Tucker on my mother's birth certificate and was buried as Robert Tucker. Can anyone tell me where the information was obtained for the cwgc details? If in fact a birth certificate had to be produced by a soldier then this may tell me why I cant find my Robert and perhaps I should start looking for John. I am getting more confused as I go along.

Regards

Christina

[Terry Denham]

Christina

If you use the search facility and look for Final Verification Form, you will find lots of info.

It goes like this.

The name of the casualty on the CWGC site is as was supplied to them by the military. This would have been the name under which he served and this could, of course, have been a false name.

After the war IWGC sent a Final Verification Form to all next-of-kin to ascertain if the details supplied by the military were correct (as far as name was concerned anyway) AND for them to supply any additional personal information they wished to see apprear in the forthcoming Registers of the Dead.

Although a large number of these Forms were never returned for a variety of reasons, the majority were. The n-o-k usually supplied details of themselves (parent and/or spouse), age, previous personal history and achievements of the casualty (schooling etc) and sometimes even a cause of death.

Therefore, the n-o-k details you see in the CWGC database were supplied by relatives and one would assume that they would get the name right. However, there are many discrepancies as men were often known by different names to those on their birth certificates.

Initial things to check would be (1) Is your info correct? (2) Is CWGC's info correct? - you can do this by emailing casualtyenq@cwgc.org. At least you can check with them that the entry does not have an obvious clerical error.

There was no attempt to check the info given by the relatives as it would have been a monumental task - checking a million or so forms - and it was assumed that relatives would have the correct info.

That is how the info was collected. Do not be surprised by name variations in documentation of the time. It is quite common. You may even find that his name was 'John Robert' or 'Robert John' but was always known as Robert - but he completed his army forms as 'John'!

[Christina]

Thanks Terry I will check with cwgc. Maybe this is the reason I cant find Robert.

Regards

Christina

[Christina]

Thanks for the help on this one. Cwgc has just e-mailed me a reply that the verification form was filled in by Mary Edith Tucker, Edwin J's widow. I guess I'll buy Edwin's birth certificate, it may tell me something I dont know.

Regards

Christina