Does anyone have access to this data from CWGC's website etc ? I seem to recall sometime ago someone quoting unmarked graves in a specific cemetery giving the grave location ref within the cemetery. I'm currently researching a chap who's on the Dunkirk Memorial (I have his medals) and I have a rough idea of where he was killed in France and possibly how. I don't want to give too much away at this stage as I'm planning on doing a thread on the forum about him but I'm wondering if he could have an unmarked grave in the area where his battalion was fighting on the day of his death. The problem may be that his battalion, according to what I've read was defending a 5 mile front on the day of his death. Cheers for any pointers
The only way I've located unknown graves on the CWGC site is when you filter on location and select those with 0 named graves. This just shows the locations with a single, unnamed grave. It is also worth looking at the locations with small numbers of named graves as in places like Pas de Calais region, the detailed record often indicates there are other, unnamed graves alongside, eg: http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2027205/AMBLETEUSE%20COMMUNAL%20CEMETERY
This won't help you much I know, but my recent "experience" on this topic was during a recent visit to Catania CWGC cemetery. As well as targeting particular names/Regiments, I try to walk the lines to read all the names. The CWGC database says there are 2,135 men buried at Catania, with 113 of them unidentified, but it was only whilst walking around that I noted "A Soldier of the Second World War" headstone which was also inscripted with "The Royal Irish Fusiliers" along with the Regiment's cap badge...as there are/were a small handful of Faughs who are unidentified and memorialised at Cassino, this has led onto some further follow up questions... but, of course, I would have only found this out by visiting the cemetery. hope you can work this one out.. best
I think it is a boots on the ground job. They must have a database of KUG headstones, but there is no way you can interrogate their online stuff. Geoff's Search Engine sometimes gives data on those buried in a specified row, blanks may be KUG or may simply be gaps in the burials. A very tedious search method. And there is no way of knowing if it is totally unknown or Blankshire Regiment etc. The new burial register documents may help but two problems, WW2 is not up yet and I don't think there is a way of viewing the next document in the series - there will be a large number for each cemetery. You could ask them if you have specific needs :mellow:
Here is an example of a graves registration report page, has some unknowns locations. http://archive.cloud.cwgc.org/archive/doc/doc1826923.JPG
Hello Andy If you have the rough area you are looking for drop a line to CWGC with the cemetery details you are interested in and they should have info of KUG headstones in the cemetery with their location and should have data of the headstone engraving. regards Clive
Andy, If you have the unit Details and the names of those who were killed around the same time try searching the CWGC site and see if you come up with a cemetery. It makes sense that they should be buried together. Just a thought and hope it helps. Regards Tom
The Cemetery plans on the CWGC site show the gaps in the rows so armed with a list of known casualties grave locations from Geoffs Search engine (and a bit of time you can find the unknowns in the rows but these are `unknowns` in a general sense including unknowns by Regiment/Rank. I`ve put an image of St Venant up I know Jim (Verrieres) did quite a few cemeteries but I haven't been able to get in touch with him recently so cannot tell you which ones he did Kyle
Cheers, I fear it is going to be as Geoff suggested, boots on the ground. I've searched the units casualties over the period and oddly there is only five casualties. Accounts I've read suggest there would be more. Anyway three of the five have no known grave and the other two are not near where I think my man was killed. If his remains are marked with a Known Unto God I suspect it will be in a Churchyard on his own.
