Hotton Cemetery

[Paul Reed]

Good photos, Owen.

Maybe the date was the date the body was found? CWGC say that many unknowns with odd dates like this have dates of burial rather than death.

[Owen]

A few more general views.






This one shows Hotton church in the background.

[geoff501]

Originally Posted by Owen D

Here's an odd one.
Listed as an Unkown in the Wiltshires BUT checking in War Diaries & on Geoff Search Engine Wilts has no casualties on that day.

Owen,

The search engine will only contain details of know burials. All the vast number of 'Known Unto God' burials don't have an on-line CWGC entry, so they don't feature in the search engine.

The only way I can calculate these (see the cemetery walk thread) is to refer to the cemetery plan, any burial without a name reference in the search engine are presumed to be 'Known Unto God'.

Great pictures by the way.

geoff

[deadb_tch]

Originally Posted by Owen D

A few more general views.

Place looks very calm and beautiful for me, surrounded by some 'similiar to russian' nature Thnx for photos, Owen

[Owen]

Thanks Geoff & Alex.
Geoff, on your search engine I wondered if any lads came up who are on one of the Memorials to the Missing for that date.

[geoff501]

I believe this is the plot with your Wiltshire regiment soldier, in grave V.C.8
Five more unknowns in this row.


V.C.1.
V.C.2.
V.C.3.
V.C.4.
V.C.5.
V.C.6. FLYING OFFICER (AIR BOMBER)-WADE-ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE-06/03/1945
V.C.7. CORPORAL-BAILES-KING'S SHROPSHIRE LIGHT INFANTRY-17/10/1944
V.C.8.
V.C.9. LIEUTENANT-CARDEN-PARACHUTE REGIMENT, A.A.C.-08/01/1945
V.C.10. LANCE CORPORAL-CHARLES-PARACHUTE REGIMENT, A.A.C.-03/01/1945
V.C.11. FLIGHT LIEUTENANT (PILOT)-MCLAREN-ROYAL AIR FORCE-23/05/1940
V.C.12. DRIVER-GASKIN-ROYAL ARMY SERVICE CORPS-02/12/1944

[geoff501]

Originally Posted by Owen D

Thanks Geoff & Alex.
Geoff, on your search engine I wondered if any lads came up who are on one of the Memorials to the Missing for that date.

Owen,

I've not looked. But as Paul has said in many cases the date must be the date the body was found.

One slightly annoying feature of the on-line data is that the unknown headstones have no data entry. Sometimes they are unknown entirely, sometimes just a regiment is known or in this case a date also given. My search engine just has blanks in these positions. It would be nice to get a complete data picture.

geoff

[ADM199]

Originally Posted by geoff501

Owen,

I've not looked. But as Paul has said in many cases the date must be the date the body was found.

One slightly annoying feature of the on-line data is that the unknown headstones have no data entry. Sometimes they are unknown entirely, sometimes just a regiment is known or in this case a date also given. My search engine just has blanks in these positions. It would be nice to get a complete data picture.

geoff

Or perhaps the date the man was last seen alive.
One man I know of who died on the Ariosto is given the Date of Death as the date the ship sailed. The ship was sunk 2 days later.

[Peter Clare]

V.C.11. FLIGHT LIEUTENANT (PILOT)-MCLAREN-ROYAL AIR FORCE-23/05/1940


23-24 May 1940.
58 Squadron.
Whitley V N1361 GE-F
Op: Communications.

Crew.
F/L. I L. McLaren +
Sgt. J R. Mirfin pow.
Sgt. J. Buckfield pow.
LAC. J. Spencer pow.
AC1. H. Wilkinson pow.

The aircraft took off from Linton-on-Ouse at 2300 hrs. Believed to have crashed in the Ardennes region of Belgium. F/L. McLaren is buried in Hotton War Cemetery where he is shown as belonging to 78 Squadron.

Bomber Command Losses. Vol.1. W R. Chorley.

Bomber Command operations for 23-24 May 1940.

Communications to Battle Front.
122 aircraft - 50 Hampdens, 48 Wellingtons, 24 Whitley's - to bomb trains, road and rail bridges and junctions over a wide area. The Hampdens were allocated targets in Germany west of the Rhine and in Holland; other aircraft were sent to France and Belgium. 2 Hampdens and 1 Whitley were lost.

The Bomber Command War Diaries. Middlebrook - Everitt.

[II./KG26]

About 5 years ago...