Different or Unusual Headstones/Memorials /Inscriptions

Discussion in 'War Cemeteries & War Memorial Research' started by spidge, Dec 10, 2008.

  1. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    James S asked about headstones without crosses which moved to the different types of stone used, so I thought it may be a good thread to pursue as they cover nearly every continent.

    I have come across quite a lot of different or unusual Headstones, Memorials or Inscriptions from WW2 & WW1. The photos I collect are of Aussie Airmen from both wars however you may have photos from other Air Forces or services you think are interesting.

    I posted these today in another thread however I feel they would be better discussed in this thread.

    This headstone has a different type of stone, gold coloured gilt on the lettering as well as a different font. (Australian country town)

    Denliquin War 56139 McCann_WC.jpg

    In Memory of
    Leading Aircraftman WILLIAM CHARLES McCANN

    56139, Royal Australian Air Force
    who died age 29
    on 06 August 1943
    Son of William Herbert and Rachel Fanny McCann; husband of Valma Merle McCann, of Middle Park, Victoria.
    Remembered with honour
    DENILIQUIN WAR CEMETERY
     
  2. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    The previous headstone was at Deniliquin yet 60 kms down the road this stone was used. All it seems is dependent on what stone is available locally.

    Another few examples from my collection at Tocumwal War Cemetery. I had never noticed the cross missing from this headstone.(Thanks James)

    Tocumwal War 409475 Houston_JWR.jpg


    The inscription translates as: "thus you shall go to the stars"
    The phrase has its origin with Virgil, who wrote sic itur ad astra (; Aeneid book IX, line 641) "

    Seems very odd that his father was in the clergy and no cross was requested/used!

    In Memory of
    Flying Officer JAMES WILSON ROCK HOUSTON

    409475, Royal Australian Air Force
    who died age 28
    on 19 June 1944
    Son of the Revd. Alexander Somerville Houston and Ethel Mary Houston; husband of Helen Margaret Houston, of Mulgrave, Victoria. B.A. (Melbourne).
    Remembered with honour
    TOCUMWAL GENERAL CEMETERY

    Tocumwal War V510654 Laufer Laufer_US Labour Service.jpg

    Parents from New York:

    No inscription here:

    In Memory of
    Private ULRICH SIEGMUND LAUFER

    V510654, A.I.F. 8th Emp. Coy., Australian Army Labour Service
    who died age 20
    on 30 December 1943
    Son of Dr. Kurt Laufer and Ella F. Laufer; nephew of Mrs. E. Rosenthal, of New York City,.
    Remembered with honour

    TOCUMWAL GENERAL CEMETERY


    Tocumwal War V510653 Schwartz_M Labour Service.jpg

    Parents from Austria:
    In Memory of
    Private MAX SCHWARTZ

    V510653, A.C.M.F. 8th Emp. Coy., Australian Army Labour Service
    who died age 26
    on 30 December 1943
    Son of Marcus and Ceilea Schwartz, of Vienna, Austria.
    Remembered with honour
    TOCUMWAL GENERAL CEMETERY
     
  3. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    Hi Spidge

    You might be interested to know the meaning of the Hebrew characters on the Jewish gravestones that are marked with the Shield of David sign.

    "At the end of many Hebrew tombstone inscriptions you will find the abbreviation <NOBR>[​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG],</NOBR> which is an abbreviation of a verse from the Bible, the first book of Samuel, 25:29, "May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life".
    See: How to Read a Hebrew Tombstone

    When I did my visit to Monte Cassino in May 2005 I took quite a few photos of gravestones such as these.

    Regards

    Ron
     
  4. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Hi Spidge

    You might be interested to know the meaning of the Hebrew characters on the Jewish gravestones that are marked with the Shield of David sign.

    "At the end of many Hebrew tombstone inscriptions you will find the abbreviation <nobr>[​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG],</nobr> which is an abbreviation of a verse from the Bible, the first book of Samuel, 25:29, "May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life".
    See: How to Read a Hebrew Tombstone

    When I did my visit to Monte Cassino in May 2005 I took quite a few photos of gravestones such as these.

    Regards

    Ron

    Thanks for the info Ron.

    I have quite a few Jewish RAAF headstones on the database.
     
  5. Verrieres

    Verrieres no longer a member

    Hi,
    Heres three from Tobruk which you don`t see every day;-
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    (left)India Izzat Tobal This Sikh soldier of the Indian Army
    LAF 8537
    (Right)Private FARAG FADIL ABDALLAH
    Libyan Arab Force
    27th December 1941
    is honoured here 34707 MODAN SINGH Indian

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Warrant Officer ,
    Royal Hellenic Air Force
    3rd October 1943

    F/O JAN VELLA D F C
    RAF 1945
    Czechoslovakia.
    Brookwood Military Cemetery

    Regards
    Verrieres
     
  6. Verrieres

    Verrieres no longer a member

    Hi,
    Some more unusual examples(to me at least)
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Four from Brookwood ,Two from Italy If I remember correctly1
    Regards
    Verrieres
     
  7. Verrieres

    Verrieres no longer a member

    Hi,
    Just posting these few for anyone who is interested,How often does one see a War Correspndents Stone? and the grave of Peter Pan!
    Regards
    Verrieres
     

    Attached Files:

  8. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Hi Verrieres,

    Great post.

    Here is another Australian correspondent's headstone.

    Norman Stockton Headstone.jpg

    Buried at Berlin Cemetery, Norman Stockton, the Australian War Correspondent was killed on 2/12/1943 whilst flying in a 460sq aircraft (below) which had 352 flying hours.

    TypeLancaster:

    Serial NumberW4881
    Squadron460X1D
    AR-K

    OperationDate 1 2nd December 1943

    Date 2 3rd December 1943

    When lost this aircraft had a total of 352 hours. W4881 was one of five No.460 Sqdn Lancasters lost on this operation. See: DV296; JB608; JB611; LM316. Airborne 1644 2 Dec 43 from Binbrook. Attacked by a night-fighter and exploded. Those killed, including Mr Norman Stockton who was reporting the war for the Sydney Sun, are buried in the Berlin 1939- 45 War Cemetery. P/O English was from New South Wales, while his fellow Australian F/S Kan, came from Victoria. P/O J.H.J.English RAAF KIA Sgt W.L.Miller PoW P/O N.J.Anderson RAAF PoW F/S A.W.Catty PoW Sgt A.G.Cole KIA F/S I.Rodin RCAF KIA F/S A.E.Kan RAAF KIA Mr N.Stockton KIA P/O.N.J.Anderson RAAF was interned in Camp L1. PoW No.1750 F/S A.W.Catty in Camp 4B PoW No.267152 with Sgt W.L.Miller, PoW No.267176 "



    And a photo of the man himself (right)


    Norman Stockton War Correspondent.jpg


    SOMEWHERE IN AUSTRALIA. NORMAN STOCKTON, AUSTRALIAN WAR CORRESPONDENT, INTERVIEWS GENERAL SCANLON, U.S.A. AIR CHIEF OF THE AREA, WITH CAPTAIN KENNEDY AND CAPTAIN MARBURGH OF THE GENERAL'S AIR STAFF. (RADIOGRAMMED TO CAPT SIMOND, LONDON)
     
  9. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    This one at Newark puzzled us - standard CWGC format stone (except for the material), but this was the only marking on it.

    unusual-stone.jpg

    As it lay very near to the Warsaw Air Bridge memorial and was apparently in the same stone we wondered if they might be connected.
     
    Last edited: Aug 1, 2017
  10. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    the crew of Jo-D(igger) of 463 squadron at Le Gros theil, sorry about the picture quality

    grave.jpg~original.jpg

    Alistair
     
  11. AndyBaldEagle

    AndyBaldEagle Very Senior Member

    Verrieres
    Hope you dont mind but I've copied the SAS fella! as i dont know if I already have him

    Andy
     
  12. Verrieres

    Verrieres no longer a member

    Hi,
    Andy I do`nt mind at all I got it from someone somewhere but I tend to be a bit of a magpie when it comes to unusual military related items and cannot recall the origin of the source for sure.
    Regards
    Verrieres
    [​IMG]
    I know this ones more recent but its an interesting unit.There is another posted on this site
    DSC_0049.jpg on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
    Direct link to photo sharing information on above Photograph
    Grave Stone on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
  13. Verrieres

    Verrieres no longer a member

    Hi,
    I have posted a link to this fellows photo collection dealing with Tobruk on other threads but heres a link into his Homepage add your own search texts regarding war cemeteries eg Amsterdam War Cemetery he has a fantastic collection especially Commonwealth Air force personell.I`ve been viewing daily for weeks and I am still finding new stuff.Fantastic Effort by this person.What do others think? Whilst your all browsing heres a few more interesting Headstones
    Regards
    Verrieres
    Flickr: Sanguinicus' Photostream
     

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  14. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Better than the copy I have however still very difficult to make out all the names. Will get a better photo one of these days.
     
  15. dbf

    dbf Moderatrix MOD

    This one is a Cwgc grave with a family headstone.

    Sergeant GEORGE LYSAGHT HOSFORD STEEDE 1063715, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died age 21 on 14 October 1941
    Son of Dr. Benjamin Hosford Steede, M.A., M.D., and of Maude Steede, of Belfast.
    Remembered with honour ROSTREVOR (KNOTTY ASH) CEMETERY

    Still hoping to find some info about him ...

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Steve G

    Steve G Senior Member

    Interesting. In Portsmouth's Kingston Cemetery ~ facing west, as I recall, somewhere along the western side? ~ is a stone inscribed with the usual name and date stuff. But part of the inscription is " Who Dares Wins ". No regimental badge. Just that inscription.

    I mentioned this to a friend of mine, former serving member of the S.A.S. He said it didn't necessarily mean anything. That anyone could have such wording put on their stone, for what ever reason.

    But, this leads me to another thought; Is it only deemed 'proper' that a man who's fallen in action be showing his regimental emblem on his stone? Is it considered, in some way, 'Bad Taste' for a man who died post war to display his old units crest?
     
  17. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    Better than the copy I have however still very difficult to make out all the names. Will get a better photo one of these days.

    Its a decent big glossy image I have, but still awkward to read - names (I guess you already have these) are

    F/O K.e.H.Bennett RAAF
    F/O J.H.Ogilvie RAAF (P2)
    Sgt R.G.Nuttall
    F/S S.Easton
    P/O T.N.Watson
    F/S R.W.Byrnes RAAF
    Sgt H.Fowler
    Sgt G.A.C.Frizzell

    A couple more images, first the original grave marker

    [​IMG]

    And then the crew, Ogilvie isnt in it as he wasnt a member of the crew but was flying as 2nd pilot

    [​IMG]

    Alistair
     
  18. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WW2 Veteran WW2 Veteran

    There is nothing particularly unusual about this gravestone but I made a point of finding it when I made my return to Monte Cassino in May 2005.
    It would make me a happy man to make contact with any of Geoff's family.
    The full story is here:
    BBC - WW2 People's War - Gunner Burnard and the Brigadier
     
  19. spidge

    spidge RAAF RESEARCHER

    Its a decent big glossy image I have, but still awkward to read - names (I guess you already have these) are

    F/O K.e.H.Bennett RAAF
    F/O J.H.Ogilvie RAAF (P2)
    Sgt R.G.Nuttall
    F/S S.Easton
    P/O T.N.Watson
    F/S R.W.Byrnes RAAF
    Sgt H.Fowler
    Sgt G.A.C.Frizzell

    A couple more images, first the original grave marker
    And then the crew, Ogilvie isn't in it as he wasn't a member of the crew but was flying as 2nd pilot

    Alistair

    Great memorabilia Alistair - Thank you.
     
  20. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    The French Memorial at Dunkirk
    [​IMG]
     

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