CWGC added the following casualties to the WW2 Civilian War Dead Roll today. CAME, William Died 17.11.40 Age 15 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Woking, Urban District DAVIS, Bryan Died 30.03.41 Age 8 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Kingston-upon-Hull, County Borough DOLPHIN, Malcolm Charles Died 12.02.42 Age 5 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: North Cotswold, Rural District GAINES, Albert Died 17.10.41 Age 11 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Guildford, Rural District HESMONDHALGH, Colin Died 01.09.41 Age 9 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Kendal, Municipal Borough HOWES, John Cubitt Died 18.02.42 Age 44 Killed by stray shot from rifle range Reporting Authority: Caistor, Rural District JOHNSTON, William Stanley Died 23.06.42 Age 15 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Norham and Islandshires, Rural District LEWIS, Beryl Eileen Died 17.04.41 Age 7 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Cheltenham, Municipal Borough PRICE, William Henry Charles Died 27.06.40 Age 28 Accidentally shot by sentry Reporting Authority: Newport, County Borough ROUSE, Stanley Sidney Died 01.02.42 Age 29 Accidentally shot by sentry Reporting Authority: Coventry, County Borough SAVAGE, Kenneth Died 15.12.42 Age 12 Killed in grenade explosion Reporting Authority: Leeds, County Borough SCOLEY, Ivor John Died 12.04.42 Age 8 Killed when discarded bomb exploded Reporting Authority: Melton and Belvoir, Rural District STUBBERFIELD, Harold Died 10.12.42 Age 65 Killed by stray shot from rifle range Reporting authority: New Forest, Rural District NOT FORGOTTEN The above were In From the Cold Project cases (Volunteer: Chris Harley)
"Killed by stray shot from rifle range". Just wondering if the family would have got compensation from the government for this? Does anyone know?
That I cannot tell. However some of the "discarded explosives" accidents involving the children appear to have involved some form of compensation. I found that some of the children had a probate which shows that they left some money to their fathers. The sum strangely is always £225.
Standard compensation for deaths due to War Operations. The next-of-kin of most of the under 16s killed the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster - which was unusually classed as War Ops, even though it technically wasn't - got £250, which is presumably what the payment had increased to by 1943. Incidentally, I have two definite Bethnal Green victims who are missing of the CWGC register, which only has 171 of them, rather than the recognised 173. The death certs confirm the cause of death.
Hello Nick I have been absent for a while so sorrry. How do you want to deal with the missing Bethnal Green victims? Chris
Hi Chris, I have long been meaning to get in contact with Terry Denham, as I previously passed on to him the death certificate of a non-comm from a Tube station bombing in 1940 (Gladys Bessie Benbrook, added in 2010). The two from Bethnal Green are a father (38) and son (12), both George MEAD. I've attached the PDFs scans of the original death register entries, and they both also appear as fatalities in the Ministry of Pensions file about compensation claims at the National Archives. Three other members of the family - Kenneth (10), Florence Elizabeth (35), and Eliza (66) - are on on the CWGC register, but the two Georges are absent, although they are on various victim listing for the incident, e.g.: A-Z VICTIMS LIST
Hello Nick Terry Denham is the best way to proceed because that is the person who I would send the case to. Do you have a copy of the MOP file as it could be very handy to track down more casualties? Cheers Chris
Yes, I've got copies of various pages of the Bethnal Green file, although these are definitely the only one missing from the CWGC register.