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Death in the two world wars
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (the Commission) is responsible for maintaining the graves of members of Commonwealth forces who were killed in service in the two World Wars. They maintain graves for those killed between 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921, and from 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947. Those who died abroad are usually buried in Commission Cemeteries, but there are also war graves in civil cemeteries and churchyards. The Commission is also responsible for the graves of those who died in the United Kingdom, usually as a result of injuries incurred abroad. They do this through maintenance agreements with local authorities, Parochial Church Councils, ex-service organisations or private individuals. The Commission does not arrange the repatriation of any body buried abroad. It cannot provide financial help for visits to its cemeteries or memorials. For details of help which may be available see Visiting Service Graves. For a small fee, the Commission can arrange for a photograph of the grave, or panel from a memorial. This may take some time as the photograph will be taken by a Commission Officer when inspecting a cemetery, unless there is a resident gardener attached to the cemetery. The Commission holds photographs showing general views of cemeteries. In order to trace a grave, the Commission requires the full name of the person who died and as much of the following information as possible: regiment, unit, service number, date of death, next of kin, home town and country of death. There is normally no charge for information, but a discretionary charge may be made if a client is trying to trace a number of graves. All enquiries should be addressed to:- Enquiries Section : Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berks, SL6 7DX Tel: 01628 634221 Fax: 01628 771208 E-Mail: general.enq@cwgc.org Website: http://www.cwgc.org  |
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Other Service Deaths Service deaths abroad which did not occur during the World Wars are the responsibility of the Ministry of Defence. Most service graves are in military cemeteries, reserved areas of civil cemeteries, civil cemeteries and churchyards, or War Graves Commission sites. If a person dies on active service, then at the time of death, her/his personal representative is given the choice of repatriating the body or ashes, or holding a burial/cremation abroad. If repatriation is chosen, the service concerned will arrange for transport to the United Kingdom and will contact the chosen funeral director. The personal representative is then responsible for the cost of the funeral (with the exception of deaths occurring as a result of service in N. Ireland when all the arrangements, including the provision of a memorial, are paid for by the Ministry of Defence). If a funeral abroad is chosen, the cost of two people attending the funeral or visiting the grave within the two years following the death is paid for by the Ministry of Defence. Requests for repatriation of a body already buried abroad are not usually successful. The cost of repatriation is extremely high and many countries do not allow the exhumation of human remains. The Ministry of Defence can help to trace the grave if as many as possible of the following details can be given: full name, rank, regiment/unit, service number, date of birth, date of death, dates of service and details of where the death was thought to have occurred. Searches are only usually carried out for the personal representative or with her/his permission. For further details, the client should contact:- For the Royal Navy and Marines: Naval Personnel Secretariat Division (2B) Victory Buildings HM Naval Base Portsmouth PO1 3LS Tel: 023 9272 7328/9 Fax: 023 9272 7304 |
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Visiting Service Graves If you wish to visit the grave of someone who died in service abroad before 1967, you should contact the Royal British Legion. The Royal British Legion arranges tours for groups to visit graves overseas. Although a visit may take time to arrange because of the need to gather a sufficient number of visitors, the legion maintains a list of those interested in visiting particular areas. The Royal British Legion administers the War Widows' Grant in Aid Scheme on behalf of the government. The scheme allows a war widow to visit her late husband's grave at public expense if she has not already done so (even if she has remarried). The scheme pays seven eighths of the cost and the widow is asked to pay the remainder. If the widow cannot afford the remaining one eighth, she should contact the Royal British Legion who can give further help and advice about this. The Royal British Legion may also be able to provide financial help to certain other relatives, but this depends on the person's circumstances and whether any other relative has visited the grave before. If a client does not wish to travel in a group, s/he should still contact the Royal British Legion which may be able to advise about tour operators running visits to the requested cemetery. For further details, contact:- Remembrance Travel Royal British Legion Village Aylesford Kent ME20 7NX Tel: 01622 716729/716182 Fax: 01622 715768 E-Mail: remembrancetravel@britishlegion.org.uk Website: http://www.remembrancetravel.co.uk |
