on 30 May 98, Dawn Hill wrote...
>Can anyone give me an address for the Commonwealth War Graves in England
>, or is there a website.
>Thanks Dawn
Dawn,
The answer - a British one - is:
WAR DEAD AFTER 1914
If your ancestor was a soldier killed in World War I, then his name should be
found in the Roll of Honour - "Soldiers Died in the Great War". This was an
HMSO publication reprinted by J B Hayward and Son, Copies are held at the PRO,
Kew and in some local libraries in the UK. The Books are collectors items and
there have been some reprints over the years. The Roll is arranged by regiment,
and by battalion within that regiment. For ease of search you need to know which
regiment the casualty served in. However, it is possible to find individuals
through systematic searching.
If the individual died in action or in service during World Wars I and II and
the many minor conflicts that the British Armed Services have been involved in
since 1914, it may be possible to learn more of the individual's death and
possible place of burial by contacting the:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission at 2 Marlow Road,
Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7DX, United Kingdom
[Telephone: ++44 (0)1628 34221; Fax: ++44 (0)1628 771208]
Provide the fullest details of their names, date and place of birth and if
possible date of death. It helps if you can emphasise that you are close kin.
They will reply and provide all the information they have, including outline
details of his regiment and place of enlistment. The Commission have a fully
alphabetical list and have recently computerised their records and to have a
very helpful telephone response service. (They were reported to have introduced
a charge for searches with written replies of £2 sterling for each person, but
this is uncertain. This charge was reportedly payable in advance and was to be
levied whether or not the search is successful.)
The Commission will tell you the deceased's regiment, ship or unit, the date
they were killed, the service number and burial place (and if no known grave
exists, where he or she is mentioned on a war memorial). They may also have
details of the deceased's last known address and parents' names - if they were
provided by the next of kin or recorded at time of entry.
The Commission has a website at: http://www.open.gov.uk/cwgc/cwgchome.htm
Yours aye,
Iain in Windsor, Berkshire
Web Page at http://home.clara.net/iainkerr/index.htm
email address iaink...@clara.net
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