FLETCHER, GEORGE Rank:SapperService No:1920269Date of Death:31/01/1941Age:38Regiment/Service:Royal Engineers 714 Gen. Constr. Coy. Panel ReferenceColumn 25.MemorialDUNKIRK MEMORIAL Additional Information: Son of James and Ann Fletcher; husband of Phyllis Edna Fletcher, of Baslow, Derbyshire. Grave Found Montferrand Cemetery, Puy De Dome, France One of my more unusual finds in that I was not looking for him. I was just checking a batch of International Death Certs when the details struck me straight between the eyes. Obviously a man on the run. I have attached a copy of the DC for all for read. Chris
Have you forwarded the details to the CWGC to see if they will amend Sapper George Fletcher's official certificate? Hopefully, there should be a good chance the authorities can pinpoint the actual grave at Clermont-Ferrand.
Chris as ever a great job. Can you tell me more about the process on how you found his grave and is it unmarked etc? Just really curious as to how this all works from a BEF point of view albeit his date of death is well after Dunkirk. I only ask as I have a unmarked grave in Esquelbecq where the massacre took place. I'm 99% sure I know who it is (too many circumstantial coincidences) but can't get that final piece to prove it beyond doubt. I emailed IFTC over a year ago and they never replied.
Drew just simply a matter of checking through a large number of death certs which were issued by the US Embassy British Interests Section. In most cases they have a place of burial listed on them. I would not think there is a headstone on his grave at present Chris
Drew if you PM me I will try to help with your case; do not expect a response straight away as I will be on hols Chris
Well done Chris in locating the grave of one of our missing....possible that the American Consulate in Marseille did not pass on the detail to the British authorities....these communication failures did occur.Now his family should be able to know what was his real fate. The German occupied zone ran north of Clermont Ferrand such that the area was part of the VIchy regime until the Germans occupied the whole of France after the "Torch" landings in late 1942.I would say that there is a good possibility that Sapper Fletcher was interned by Vichy France in one of their camps in the Clermont Ferrand area. (Montferrand is a north east suburb) Many escapees from Dunkirk escaped from these camps,especially in the South of France and made it home via the Pyrenees. Puy de Dome... departmental name and name of the spectacular dormant volcano,not far from Montferrand... dormant volcano country...lovely place for a holiday...was there on the western side of Clermont Ferrand in 1982...just north of the town is Volvic...home of the natural spring water.
PM sent Chris-I'm happy to do any ground work in the UK or France etc. to prove this and or any guidance from anyone. I've added the links below and I suspect I have more info on the hard drive that I never posted up. Without doubt all the info is circumstantial at the moment - but there does seem to be rather a lot of it. Lance Corporal Webber, Queen Victoria Rifles and Second Lieutenant Edgcumbe, 12th Royal Lancers
Top man, do you know they have located a few DUNKIRK MEMORIAL pow graves and marked them in Poland recently ?
If you go onto the CWGC commission site Chris, and type POLAND and WW2 into the cemetery search, they come up on there, it's Popielow Cemetary, There must be loads more out there. From some brief research of mine there are loads of airmen in graves in Eastern Germany/Europe so there must be a good number of POWs in the same position.
More here,Recent research has shown ...Hmmm..no mention of the guy whose actual research it is..Time to give him some credit.. http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/9932650.Battle_to_have_war_grave_recognised_may_be_won/ SAUNDERS, JOHN THOMAS Rank:Lance Corporal Service No:4457964 Date of Death:21/07/1944 Age:25 Regiment/Service:Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) 1st Bn. The Tyneside Scottish Grave ReferencePlot 1 Grave 1 CemeteryPOPIELOW CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Joseph Saunders, and of Florence Mary Saunders, of Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham. N.B. Recent research has shown that Lance Corporal Saunders is buried here. The Commission is in the process of producing a headstone to mark his grave. Presently he is commemorated on Column 91 of the Dunkirk Memorial. THOMSON, HENRY ALEXANDER Rank:Trooper Service No:2041925 Date of Death:21/07/1944 Age:25 Regiment/Service:Royal Armoured Corps 1st Lothians and Border Horse Awards:M M Grave ReferencePlot 1 Grave 2 CemeteryPOPIELOW CEMETERY Additional Information: Son of Ada Thomson, of Lee, London; husband of G. Thomson, of Bordesley Green, Birmingham. N.B. Recent research has shown that Trooper Thomson is buried here. The Commission is in the process of producing a headstone to mark his grave. He is presently commemorated on Panel 6 of the Dunkirk Memorial. Kyle P.s I know I`ve tagged this on to someone elses thread and whilst in a way it`s relevent, if the Mods feel it is leading the topic astray or that it needs a heading of its own Please feel free to move it.
Well done him & no I do not mind you tagging on my thread as it is very much of interest to my research Chris
Total hats off kudos to anyone who finds a lost resting place, I suspect this was the CWGC's own research as there has been a similar recent thing in Italy
The CWGC recently told me their job is not to locate casualties but to commemorate them. The research was done by Tom Hutchinson and WW2 Talk forum member John Dixon . Kyle
The CWGC don't seem to do much in the way of 'research', just check through the research of others who submit cases to them.
There is a memorial at Ann’s Church Baslow Derby with George’s name on it. His older brother died in the Battle of Jutland WW1, his Nephew Albert Arthur was in WW2 alongside George ( he was my Grandad) Albert was a Para that jumped at Arnhem (Operation Market Garden). Amazing find! Thanks everyone