WW1 soldier missing in action? AWOL?

[Jules1066]

Can anyone please help decipher the first line in second column.

Ow since ? What does ow stand for?

My 2x great uncle was killed 3.9.16 was buried with a cross near where he fell and later reburied in Ancre. He may have been missing at the time this document was created?

[DavidJP]

Hi,

I believe that "OW" means "Of Wounds",  meaning that your man died of his wounds.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards

David

[philipsearching]

It reads "on or since 3.9.16.  Death presumed".

Your man was last seen alive on 3 Sep 1916 and, as he was never found, he was presumed to have died.

Philip

[DavidJP]

Hi,

It reads "on or since 3.9.16.  Death presumed".

Your man was last seen alive on 3 Sep 1916 and, as he was never found, he was presumed to have died.

Philip

Please ignore my previous post, Philip has correctly read what it says in the snippet you posted. I clearly misread it! My apologies.

Kind regards

David

[MaxD]

Forgive the correction but Rifleman Crask's initial burial place was later found and he was reburied after the war in the cemetery in which he now lies.  The concentration details on the Commonwealth War Grave site show he was initially buried near to the river Ancre.  The marker for his first burial place may not have shown clearly when he was buried hence the "on or since" being, as Philip says, the last time he was positively sighted so "missing" in the sense of his whereabouts not being known not that he was AWOL.

On the map at the link below he was found in square Q 18 in the bottom left quadrant and the cemetery is in square Q 17, bottom right quadrant about 500 metres to the west of his initial burial.  Use the blue slider to bring the present day image into focus, the cemetery is easily seen.

 https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=14&lat=50.0771&lon=2.6689&layers=101465248&b=1


MaxD

[Jules1066]

Thank you so much everyone for your replies. And the link to the map of course, which pinpoints the location.

My 2x great uncle's story Arthur James Craske (27) was unknown to me (and parents, uncle). Until I came across him in my family research. He left behind an orphaned 5 year old daughter and who knows why he signed up!

We now have a grave we can visit and a story about the last days of his life. His Bn was tasked to secure a few hundred metres of high ground near St Pierre Divion, protecting the flank of 49th. Already depleted with only a Captain as CO, the mission was a disaster with hundreds of men killed. The war diary has a detailed entry of the events.

I'm sure his parents and sisters never visited his grave in France and there is no personalised message on his grave.

All very poignant to remember as the end of centenary of WW1 nears.

[MaxD]

As you have seen from the diary, the battalion was severely mauled in two separate attacks on 3 Sep 1916. Some 176 men were recorded as missing immediately afterwards, some may have returned later, some taken prisoner, some never found and some, like Rfn Craske buried in a temporary grave (perhaps by the enemy, not beyond the bounds of possibility).

MaxD

[Jules1066]

Yes severely mauled indeed. Terrifying to learn of the number of casualties that day.

One of the means of identification was H.P. 43
What might this stand for?

I feel very fooolish..have spent morning trying to find the website that shows the individual graves in Ancre. I took a screenshot some years ago, but didn't record the name of the website...I've looked on Common Wealth War Graves Commission website, but doesn't seem to show individual graves. Or does it?

[Jules1066]

Found it on Londonwarmemorial.co.uk