Photographs of grave sites of WW1 killed?

[Dennis]

Hi,

Are there any organizations that have or would take photos of the grave sites of WW1 British soldiers interred in cemeteries in France?


Regards. dennis

[Currie]

Hello Dennis,

The War Graves Photographic Project is probably what you’re looking for, although it’s in its early stages and you would have to be lucky to find anything. http://www.twgpp.org/

There are also probably organisations that photograph graves of particular regiments, units or whatever but you would have to google for those or even for the soldier on the odd chance there may be something there already. Try last name first.

There are probably people photographing all the graves in a particular cemetery as a pet project or whatever. I’ve seen a UK one for WW1 soldiers who died in a military hospital (Harefield I think) but the site seems to have since died. I seem to recall hearing something like that being done at a French cemetery by a UK person. It may have been on one of the BBC Radio genealogy programs. Google is your friend when it comes to this sort of thing.

There seem to have been some successful requests to photograph graves on the Great War forum such as this one http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forum ... pid=934472

Hopefully all those scattered projects will eventually be merged into the C.W.G.C. one.

Hope this helps,
Alan

[wini]

There must still be many many soldiers still in mass graves that are unmarked.
The recent discovery in France of a grave containing British and Australian soldiers, none of them identified as yet and maybe never brings home the utter futility of war.
I have one, who may be relative and his minor record gives a period of three days when he may have died in France.

The French and Belgians have done a wonderful jon caring for the war graves.

wini

[Adam Brown]

The French and Belgians have done a wonderful jon caring for the war graves.
wini

Wini

Commonwealth war graves are cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission not by the French or belgian governments.

France and Belgium gave land in perpituity for the cemeteries and memorials after both world wars but they are maintained to this day by the Commission which is funded mainly by the UK government and also by Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I don't know if South Africa, India and Pakistan contribute any more?

More info here..

http://www.cwgc.org/content.asp?menuid= ... &menu=main

Regards

Adam

[Montrose Budie]

I have the distinct memory from a similar post some time ago here or on another forum that the CWGC will supply a photo of a named grave; but that there is a significant cost involved.

Try a similar post on the Great War forum at http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/ .......... not least from the point of view of the possibility of developing contact with a poster who regularly visits France and Belgium.

mb

[ChristineW]

Just to update this topic: I followed Alan's (Currie) link to The War Graves Photographic Project - http://www.twgpp.org/ - and was amazed to find both my Great Uncles' graves had been photographed. (One is in Arras and the other in Salonika).

For a nominal sum (3GBP each) I received, by email, incredibly clear photographs of the actual graves and a general view of the cemeteries they are buried in. I was also amazed to read the 'personalised' inscription on the headstones - I must admit I was a bit choked when I read what my Great Grandmother had 'written'. I somehow assumed the wording on the heastones would be confined to a stark Name, number and battalion.

Another group of excellent volunteers doing a sterling job with our ancestors who fell in war.

Christine

Edited by Emanday: Added the missing "w" from the link.

[Montrose Budie]

.....snipped.............. I was also amazed to read the 'personalised' inscription on the headstones - I must admit I was a bit choked when I read what my Great Grandmother had 'written'. I somehow assumed the wording on the heastones would be confined to a stark Name, number and battalion. ....snipped................
Christine

The wording is quite often confined to name, rank, number, and regiment [or squadron/ship etc.] Only if the next-of-kin took the option was a family message added.

mb