4 replies to this topic

[IRC Kevin]

I'm puzzled by a page in one soldier's service record, stating that a grave marker has been erected over his grave. It gives the site as Quarry Landing, five and 1/4 miles to the east of Albert. The obvious location for this would be Quarry Cemetery, but  I could do with confirmation that Quarry Landing and Quarry Cemetery are one and the same. This cemetery also doesn't really fit in as the most convenient burial location for where he was killed, (whilst consolidating a trench for the attack on Guillemont, just to the east of the southern-most part of Trones Wood. A more probable alternative location would be the old brickworks on the Montauban-Maricourt road, which the Battalion did use as a cemetery during this period, the graves from here later being moved to Quarry Cemetery. What is puzzling me most is that this soldier is only commemorated on Thiepval Memorial and has no known grave, yet the paper informing of the grave marker being placed is dated 22/3/1920, well after any possibility of the grave being destroyed by shellfire. Any suggestions as to why this may have happened?

4028 Pte. John Flood. 1/5th K.O.R.L. Aged 17.

[bigjohn]

I cannot help much, but on the trench map that I have there is another quarry shown, just to the north of Bernafay wood.It is just by the side of the light railway that was in the area [Possible halt or loading/landing area?] This is about the same distance to carry a body as to the Briqueterie just a possibility. Wish you luck in your quest.
Regards
  John

[IRC Kevin]

bigjohn, on 05 June 2012 - 08:37 AM, said:

I cannot help much, but on the trench map that I have there is another quarry shown, just to the north of Bernafay wood.It is just by the side of the light railway that was in the area [Possible halt or loading/landing area?] This is about the same distance to carry a body as to the Briqueterie just a possibility. Wish you luck in your quest.
Regards
  John

Thanks for the input, John. I suspect that in the end Quarry Landing and Quarry Cemetery will turn out to be the same place. Still can't get over the fact that they can mark a grave in 1920 and then lose it, unless something turned up to throw doubt on their identification at a later date.

[IRC Kevin]

Just found another record from a soldier in the same company, who was killed at the same time and he too has a letter dated March 1920 stating that a grave marker had been placed over his grave. This record however names the cemetery as Quarry Cemetery, rather than Quarry Landing and as the location is the same as for the previous casualty this confirms my supposition that they are one and the same. I have however contacted CWWG to see if they can explain why two soldiers whose graves were marked in March 1920 now have no known grave. It's also possible that there may be another five falling into the same category from this same battalion. (CWWG state that 23 from KORL were reburied here, however cemetery records only names 11 out of the 23, so presumably the other 12 are unknown)

[IRC Kevin]

Just got word back from CWWG which explains the letters in the service records.


In the years immediately following the First World War the Commission had to decide how to commemorate those casualties who had no known grave. Initially, thought was given to the possibility of doing this by individual memorial crosses erected in the cemeteries to the area where the casualty was though to have died. This plan had its origin in the habit adopted by those clearing the battlefields of placing temporary grave markers, which had become detached from their graves, in the nearest burial ground.
Work was begun in some cemeteries, including Quarry Cemetery, Montauban, with this in mind but eventually it was decided that specially built memorials to the missing would be the most appropriate form of commemoration for these men. The memorial cross plan was adandoned, but not before some families had been told that this was how their relative was to be commemorated.