Killed in action France and Flanders

[SALONIKA]

Hi

     Can anyone help me  my grandmothers brother James Ward b1898 Barking was killed in action in France and Flanders on 15 Aug1917 the record says he was a rifleman in the London regiment
5th city of London battalion London rifle brigade 315167    formerly 8054 6th london reg
I notice many of the killed in action are recorded dying in france and flanders does that mean they don't know where they died just in that area. Also I cant find any army record of James any ideas on where to go from here
                                             Thank  Jim

[andycand]

Hi

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Website has James Ward commemorated on the YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL I suspect he has no known grave.
http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/912930/WARD,%20JAMES
Some of the information on commercial sites can be a bit vague
Some 60% of WW1 Service Records were destroyed by fire during WW2

Andy

[jds1949]

One of the best places to start your research is here:

http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/research/index.php/find-your-soldier/

"France and Flanders" is the official designation of the western front theatre of war to distinguish it from other areas of conflict such as Gallipoli and the Middle East. Many men have no known grave, some because their bodies were never recovered at the time of their deaths, if, for example, they died in "no man's land" - or because there was no body to recover, high explosive shells are very destructive - or because their graves were obliterated by subsequent fighting. It is possible to find the approximate place for most deaths if you know the battalion of unit in which the man served and the date of death so that you can then consult the relevant war diary and see where they were on that date.

jds1949

[LizzieW]

My g.uncle died of his wounds in France and Flanders, but he only has his name on the Cambria Monument.  I guess given the cause of his death (I have his death cert) means he wasn't blown to pieces, so maybe his grave was obliterated by subsequent fighting.  Unfortunately like so many others, his war records must have been amongst the ones destroyed during WW2.  Rather ironic really, in that I have the records of my grandfather and his other brother, neither of whom died in WW1, so I had other methods of finding out about their lives.

[SALONIKA]

Hi

   Thanks Andy and jds1949 and Lizziew for your help and comments

                           Jim

[SALONIKA]

Hi Jds1949

     In your reply to my question on killed in action you mentioned looking at the relevant war diaryfor that particular action  how do I find this?

                      thanks     Jim

[jds1949]

The relevant war diaries for the 1/5th Battalion City of London [Rifle Brigade] are held at the National Archives - see:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/SearchUI/s/res?_q=London+Rifle+Brigade&x=28&y=9&_cr1=WO+95&_cr2=&_cr3=

Unfortunately they have not, as yet, been digitalised so can only be viewed by going to Kew or getting someone else to do so on your behalf. The NA will copy them for you - but it will cost you quite a lot, depending on how many pages you want.

For a brief overview of what the battalion were up to see here:

http://www.1914-1918.net/london.htm

You might also try posting a query on the GWF

 http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php?

- asking if anyone can tell you what the battalion were doing in August 1917 and explaining why - I'd post the query in the "Units and Formations" section giving the full title of the battalion in the main heading and the dates required in the sub-heading.

Good hunting,

jds1949

[SALONIKA]

Hi thanks again jds1949 for the information

                        Jim

[WarriorMomma]

Hi Jim,
Did you ever get the information you were looking for?  If not, here it is:
WARD, JAMES   J   20      15/08/1917      Rifleman   London Regiment (London Rifle Brigade)   1st/5th Bn.   Belgium   '315167'   

YPRES (MENIN GATE) MEMORIAL   Panel 52 and 54.   

SON OF FREDRICK AND MARGRET WARD, OF 15, YORK RD., ABBEY RD., BARKING, ESSEX.

Jill