CWGC Records Made Public on VJ Day Anniversary

Discussion in 'Searching for Someone & Military Genealogy' started by Shiny, Aug 5, 2015.

  1. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    I'm a little disappointed too. I was hoping they would provide the full casualty pathway in the documentation. In the case of my grandfather, mention of his original burial in Rangoon Cantonment Cemetery and then his re-interment at Rangoon War Cemetery after the war.
     
  2. Red Goblin

    Red Goblin Senior Member

    CWGC have always offered a personal service FoC - esp. for close relatives - the archive material now published always having been available to such for the asking. If you believe them to hold unpublished records, then I've always found the best approach to ring in the first instance - possibly following it up with an e-mail request as they recently advised me in the case of John Docherty.

    There's always the possibility, of course, that records have genuinely been lost or been too-aggressively weeded but I've heard no CWGC rumours to that effect.

    Nil desperandum,
    Steve
     
  3. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Thanks Steve. I did ask them many years ago for any information on my grandfather and the other men buried with him at Rangoon War Cemetery. I received an email reply from a very helpful member of staff saying that I probably knew more about the situation than they did.

    All I was hoping for was perhaps a date recording the removal of the burials at the English Cantonment Cemetery in Rangoon, where my grandfather was first laid to rest, and then re-interred at Rangoon War Cemetery after the war.

    Cheers

    Steve
     
  4. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Finally cracked it tonight. Although my grandfather's new details did not reveal any new information for my research, another POW's concentration papers did. I've always wanted to know when the POW casualties from Rangoon Jail were re-buried at Rangoon War Cemetery. Well, it was 14th June 1946.

    Well chuffed. :)
     
    Deacs likes this.
  5. zahonado

    zahonado Well-Known Member

    Perseverance pays off again for you, well done Steve
     
  6. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Thanks zahonado. The new information is something I must relay to some of Chindit 1 families.
     
  7. graeme

    graeme Senior Member

  8. bamboo43

    bamboo43 Very Senior Member

    Thanks Graeme,

    Yes, that's me. Your welcome to any of the paperwork I possess for Herbert. His is a particularly sad case, as even though he perished inside Rangoon Jail, his burial was not recorded accurately enough for his remains to be recovered after the war. This happened to several men, especially those who died fairly quickly on arrival at the jail and presumably before any officer in authority thought to record these matters.

    Best wishes

    Steve
     
  9. lionboxer

    lionboxer Member

    Anyone know if the war diaries for 46 Graves Concentration Unit in India 1944 are still extant? Also, where would the original unit casualty reports be/ been held?
    Lionboxer
     
  10. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    Diaries at the National Archives, Kew: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C1014639

    Mark
     
  11. lionboxer

    lionboxer Member

    Thanks Mark but this link shows the diary for only March 1943. Actually it doesn't look like a South east Asia ref number. WO 172 I believe.
     

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