I am planning a visit to the French Cemetery at Venafro and would like to find the grave of Lieutenant el Hadi of 4 RTT who, according to John Ellis, died at the summit of one of the peaks north of Cassino. Is there an onlien register of french graves? How do I start?
Most French archives adopt a strict 100 year rule, but recently, with more interest in WW2 generally, the state have made great efforts in digitising records. There are a few places you could try: http://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr/fr/arkotheque/client/mdh/sepultures_guerre/index.php which should be a searchable database of those 'morts pour la France' since the war of 1870-1 and covering recent conflicts. I can't vouch for how good it is as I haven't used it. http://www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr/ http://www.defense.gouv.fr/sga also have relevant information or links.
Do you have his actual date of death?? TD edited to add: I am wondering if this is him?? GR 8YE 42409 EL HADI BEN, Kacem Ben Attab sous-lieutenant infanterie 01/12/1915 25/01/1944 http://www.servicehistorique.sga.defense.gouv.fr/sites/default/files/SHDGR_REP_8YE_A-E.pdf
Thanks you. That is brilliant. That looks like the man. What I now need is the equivalent of the CWGC grave register. I suspect he is buried in the French cemetery at Venafro, but where among the 3,400 graves!
Sheldrake " He does not appear - therefore has no known grave" The sites I have seen only appear to show graves within France - I am uncertain as yet if they have a similar set up to CWGC, i.e. shows all military grave records outside France as well. I am also trying to find out if there is a registration record book at cemeteries such as yours in Italy that would provide you with a plan and reference to his particular grave. Perhaps as an outside chance PM member Vitellino and ask them if (as in CWGC cemeteries) there is a book at the entrance of the cemetery that provides the information you seek. I note from the info available from Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venafro#French_military_cemetery) that: French military cemetery[edit] Along Highway 85 to Isernia, on an extended flat area is the French war cemetery in which are buried about 4,500 (but many have been exhumed) soldiers. Notable are the two thirds of African origin, mainly Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian and Senegalese, who fell in large part during the Battle of Monte Cassino. A monument was erected that refers explicitly to the North African minarets decorated with ceramic tiles of blue, set against the whitewashed walls, and some inscriptions. Inside, there are tombs of the Unknown Soldier dedicated to soldiers: one Tunisian, one Algerian, and one Moroccan. All the tombs are arranged on the north-east south-west, with the gravestones facing north-east, with the exception of some graves, located behind the section of Jewish soldiers and animists. On each plaque by the name (if known) are the words (in French) "died for France".[12] From this I assume there is a chance he has been reburied elsewhere?? TD
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the French government paid for soldier's remains to be repatriated to their home town/families but only in mainland France. This from The Great War forum, "France allowed bodies to be repatriated to wherever the NOK wanted, and the army paid. This means that there are WW1 dead buried in just about every cemetery in France. It complicates matters terribly when doing any research as the databases of burials have only those buried in official war cemeteries, not the others. I don't know what proportion were repatriated as against left in war cemeteries, but here in Luxembourg they built a big memorial with an unknown soldier in the middle surrounded by the French who died (of wounds) in Luxembourg. It was naturally designed to hold all the French soldiers who died in the country (the Luxembourger who die for France surrounded by the French who died for Luxembourg). By the time it was finished (1922) so many bodies had been repatriated that a lot of the individual tombs below ground are in fact, empty. In other words, a large proportion were repatriated." I don't think this extended to 'colonial' soldiers unless their families could pay for repatriation of the remains.
