There is a grave in the Devonshire Cemetery (next to Captain Martin's) that is marked with just a cross. It has no writing on it. Can anyone explain the significance of this please?

Thanks,

This device is used by CWGC where the adjacent headstones carry more than one name and there is no room left for a cross.

A single blank headstone is inserted bearing only a cross and this serves as the cross for all the others.

Thanks Terry, that is useful information.

John

My understanding is slightly different...

Sometimes you find a 'cross only' headstone in a row of other headstones which do show both names & crosses -

I understood that a 'cross only' headstone demarks the row as being a long 'mass grave' with the names of the soldiers on the surrounding headstones being in that long grave - but not necessarily under the particular headstone that bears their name.

The Devonshire Cem is such a cemetery isn't it? Hawthorn Ridge Cem 1 is also a prime example.

BUT...I may have been told wrong.

That is not the explanation give by CWGC.

The cross represents the religious symbol for the nearby graves which have no room for a cross due to multiple names.

There are hundreds of graves such as you describe where the bodies are in a long trench but they do not have cross-only headstones amongst them. Also, you have to remember that in many cemeteries there are graves with two bodies in them where they have individual headstones - meaning that the headstone is not necessarily over the grave ( eg 20 graves containing 25 bodies with 25 headstones).