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General => Armed Forces => World War One => Topic started by: namatse on Friday 28 September 18 16:03 BST (UK)
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Two of my Great Uncles died in service during WW1 in France and Flanders. I know the dates they died and in which CWG cemeteries they are laid to rest.
Can anyone suggest how I best investigate the circumstances regarding their deaths.?
I also know which regiments they served in but have not been able to establish which battle cost them their lives.
Thanks
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If you can access Ancestry, by sub or at a library in UK, you can look your men up in Soldiers Died in the Great War. This will give killed in action, died of wounds or just ‘died’, meaning sickness or accident.
Units’ war diaries do not often name soldiers other than officers, but if your men were Kia it may tie up with an entry in the diary. Died of wounds is another matter, given the possible time lag between events.
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May I add a little to Ainslie's advice?
If the CWGC detail also says which battalion of their regiment they were in, then that can lead you to the war diaries at the National Archives (they are also on Ancestry in most cases). Check the CWGC detail for a sheet headed "Concentration". If it is there, then that would indicate they were initially buried elsewhere and reburied later.
If you need to find their battalion, then you will need their medal roll entry, also on Ancestry.
The Register of Soldiers' Effect on Ancestry will also give a clue to their death perhaps. Someone who died in a field ambulance or the like will normally have that place recorded there.
There will always be someone here who can help further if required.
MaxD
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An excellent supplement.
A
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Thanks to both Ainslie and MaxD for their help and information.
I do not have a current subscription to Ancestry but will visit my local library and access the site there.
As always, great to have people who are willing to assist and share their knowledge.
Much appreciated
namatse
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I have had some success using www.thelonglongtrail.co.uk.
Start with the "Army" tab, then "The Regiments and Corps".
Once you have found the Regiment, you will find details of the various battalions.
Each battalion was almost certainly part of a numbered Brigade within a Division.
Scroll to the end of the Regimental page to find links to various Divisions.
From the resulting page you will be able to see which battles that Division was involved in.
Hopefully the dates of death will provide a clue as to where the deaths took place?
Back on the Main Menu bar, there is a link to "Battles" that might give further information.
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It is probably worth pointing out that, sadly, deaths occurred almost daily so you may well find that the dates of death do not neatly fall inside the brackets given to the major "named" engagements which is where the war diaries of the battalions and, if necessary, their higher command levels come into the picture. Deaths in the medical evacuation chain may not be immediately relatable to a named battle.
In addition, a soldier who was serving in, for example, one of the support services such as the Army Service Corps, may have died during the time frame of say, First Ypres, but if he was at the time 20 miles away from the front carrying out his just as valuable contribution, to say he died "in the battle of First Ypres" would, I suggest, not be right.
Good luck with your searches, let us know how it goes!
MaxD
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I followed your advice MaxD and discovered that one of my Uncles had in fact been buried elsewhere and then reburied in a cemetery in Loos.
Unfortunately I have not been able to establish where either of my Uncles died but it seems highly likely that one of them died at The Battle of St Quentin Canal.
Thanks again for all the pointers.
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I have sent you a PM.
MaxD
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I can assist if either of your relatives served in the 2nd Seaforth Highlanders
Baird
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You could also try local newspapers - sometimes they reported deaths in more detail. Ours had a whole page every week listing those killed, wounded, missing etc. Sometimes all you get is a name in a list, but other times you can get a whole paragraph about the soldier.
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Thanks to everyone for their help and advice.
I have acted on all of your recommendations and have also been helped "off line" with great results.
Many thanks