Merchant Seamen and the CWGC what is the criteria

[izzy]

i know of a ship's master commemorated by the c.w.g.c who died of illness while in retirment. he is mentioned on a local war memorial so i suspect your man should be commemorated

[Hugh MacLean]

There are a few inconsistancies with the CWGC. There are the odd few who have been commemorated but the vast majority of those lost in accidents, marine incidents, weather related sinkings were not.

To qualify for War Grave status and CWGC listing a person had to die both whilst on duty and of a war cause or the increased threat brought on by war. Death due to accident, illness or marine disaster would not qualify unless it met both these conditions.

It would be up to the enquirer to provide evidence to the CWGC. You can contact the CWGC for free and they will acknowledge your email immediately but they are running about 6 weeks of a backlog before they can give you a specific answer to your question.

:: CWGC ::

The CWGC follow a strict ruleset and wont bend unless the conditions mentioned above are true. This is an injustice to all those Merchant Navy men and women lost during the war. However, like I said, they are governed by rules and it will probably take intervention by politicians and citizens to change the status quo.

Regards
Hugh