Myrtle Posted 28 October , 2002 Share Posted 28 October , 2002 Having come across a Battlefield Cross in a remote area of Wales, I contacted the IWM inventory to check if they had it listed. I was surprised to find that they have only 12 Battlefield Crosses listed for Wales and 10 for Scotland. They do however have 377 recorded for England. As it was easier for families to travel from certain parts of Britain to F&F it is not surprising that more English families managed to acquire these crosses but I would have thought that there would have been more than the present number recorded in Wales and Scotland. If you have information on Battlefield Crosses in the further afield areas of the country I am sure that Lorraine Knight would appreciate the information at: memorials@iwm.org.uk Regards Myrtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 28 October , 2002 Share Posted 28 October , 2002 The crosses were not claimed by families visiting the battlefields (although I am sure that happened); you officially got them by applying to the IWGC - who then sent them to you in the post wrapped in brown paper... believe it or not. This is something they obviously didn't widely publicise as I suspect they would have been inundated with requests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry_Reeves Posted 28 October , 2002 Share Posted 28 October , 2002 I'm not so sure that the relatives had to travel to F&F to collect the crosses. In a church near me in the West Midlands there is one complete with an OHMS label which appears to have been sent by post. Terry Reeves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted 28 October , 2002 Author Share Posted 28 October , 2002 Hello Paul and Terry Thank you for clarifying how the Battlefield Crosses were acquired or not acquired by families in Britain. It would have been difficult for people in the further reaches of the country to find out about such a service, especially if they were only able to speak and understand Welsh or Gaelic. Regards Myrtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_davies Posted 29 October , 2002 Share Posted 29 October , 2002 Myrtle, Your battlefield cross in "remote' Wales, didn't happen to that of Dulas, Anglesey did it ? My father has been unsuccessfully trying to email me a photo of this for some time. Apparently many locals believe that Major A. Neave was brought back from Belguim and re-interred in the family crypt-but it seems unlikely. Regards James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted 29 October , 2002 Author Share Posted 29 October , 2002 James The battlefield cross I came across was in Mid Wales. It commemorates John Williams-Vaughan 2/Lt Attd. 100th Coy Machine Gun Corps (Inf) He was KIA on 15th July 1916 at High Wood and is mentioned in the "History and Memoir of the 33rd Battalion Machine Gun Corps" as Lt. Vaughan-Williams. Have you checked to see if the IWM have your Anglesey battlecross registered ? Regards Myrtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted 30 October , 2002 Author Share Posted 30 October , 2002 Just checked my notes on locations of Welsh battlefield crosses already registered with the IWM inventory. There are 5 in Clwyd; 1 in Dyfed; 2 in Gwent; 4 in Powys. Myrtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 30 October , 2002 Share Posted 30 October , 2002 I remember reading an explanation of what happened to the surplus wooden crosses after they had been replaced by their present headstones. It was an account of a visit to the cemetery at Delville Wood. The writer remembers seeing gardeners tending a fire by the side of the cemetery, on which they were burning a large pile of wooden crosses. A few years ago I found what I think may have been the spot! Scattered here and there were bits of aluminium strip from the original wooden crosses. Here's one of them, showing the letters "UNKNOWN B" of "Uknown British Soldier." Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted 30 October , 2002 Author Share Posted 30 October , 2002 Interesting information Tom. Do you know when the account was written? Unfortunately John Williams-Vaughan's cross was not replaced by a headstone. The site of his grave must have been lost as his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial. Regards Myrtle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 30 October , 2002 Share Posted 30 October , 2002 Many original crosses were still in place post-WW2; an old friend in Pozieres (now dead) told me that when he first joined CWGC in 1947 his first job was to burn the remaining wooden crosses from London Cemetery, High Wood. I must say over the years I have found a lot of these aluminium strips close to cemeteries; so it must have been common to burn them on site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Dodd Posted 31 October , 2002 Share Posted 31 October , 2002 Does anyone know if there are any irish ones still around and if so where are they???? Conor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrtle Posted 31 October , 2002 Author Share Posted 31 October , 2002 Hi Conor If you contact Lorraine Knight whose email address is mentioned in my first posting, she should be able to give you locations of any Irish battlefield crosses. Regards Myrtle 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