Orde Wingate

I was wandering around the cemetary near where I work (Charlton, SE London) in my lunch break, as one does. (Well I work for the NHS so the cemetary was less depressing).

I came across what appears to be the grave of Orde Wingate. (Attached: the ground appears to be subsiding; the column in the background is a true vertical).

My question is: Wingate was killed in an air crash in India. It was very rare for servicemen killed overseas in the two world wars to be brought home for burial. Was Wingate's family given special consideration, possibly in view of his high rank? Or is this grave in Charlton the grave of his family only, and his name is there as a memorial only? The inscription is ambivalent as to whether he is actually buried there or is merely commemorated.

Adrian

 

"The remains of Orde Wingate were originally buried at the site of the air crash in the Naga Hills in 1944. In April 1947, some of the remains of Wingate and the others involved were removed and reburied the same month at the British Military Cemetery at Imphal, India. Finally, in November 1950, these remains were removed a final time and brought to Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
These remains were brought to America because the remains of the different men could no longer be separated out and under allied rules; the remains were repatriated/buried in the country of the majority of those who had died.
There is a memorial to Orde Wingate and to the Chindits on the north side of the Victoria Embankment next to the Ministry of Defence headquarters in London. The front of the monument is in memory of the Chindits and also mentions the four men of the Chindits awarded the Victoria Cross. The battalions which took part are listed on the sides of the monument. Non-infantry units are mentioned by their parent formations only. The rear of the monument is exclusively dedicated to Orde Wingate and also mentions his contributions to the state of Israel.

Have a look here as well:


http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/owingate.htm



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I was wandering around the cemetary near where I work (Charlton, SE London) in my lunch break, as one does. (Well I work for the NHS so the cemetary was less depressing).

I came across what appears to be the grave of Orde Wingate. (Attached: the ground appears to be subsiding; the column in the background is a true vertical).

My question is: Wingate was killed in an air crash in India. It was very rare for servicemen killed overseas in the two world wars to be brought home for burial. Was Wingate's family given special consideration, possibly in view of his high rank? Or is this grave in Charlton the grave of his family only, and his name is there as a memorial only? The inscription is ambivalent as to whether he is actually buried there or is merely commemorated.

Adrian

Funny how things come in a row. I placed this just a couple of weeks ago in reference to an article that stated only (1) "foreigner" was buried at Arlington.

Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset ;"> British Gen. John Dill dies in Washington, D.C., and is buried in Arlington Cemetery, the only foreigner to be so honored. </td> </tr> </tbody></table>


There are other foreign natonals buried in Arlington. Some through necessity.

Orde Wingate for example.

While Arlington National Cemetery Is Essentially An American
Burial Ground, There Are A Number Of Foreign Nationals Buried There.

<hr width="100%">
Ali Hussam Abass Alrubaeye. Captain, Iraqi Air Force, Killed In Operation Iraqi Freedom
Luigi Bartolucci-Dundas, Italian Assistant Naval Attache'
Mario Batista - Italian Prisoner Of War
George Henry Borrow - Captain, British Army
Roy Albert Arthur Cannon, Flying Officer, Royal Air Force, Great Britain - Killed With American Aircrew
Thomas John Donald Cook, Flight Lieutenant, Royal Air Force, Great Britain - Killed With American Aircrew
Monica P. Daventry - British Women's Air Force
Bernardus Pieter de Wit, Lieutenant, Royal Netherlands Marines
Sir John Greer Dill - British Field Marshal
Stewart Emeny - British War Correspondent
A. S. Faber, Lieutenant Commander, Royal Netherlands Navy
Walter Frederick Fitch, Captain, British Army
Anton Hilberath - German Prisoner Of War
Basil B. W. Howe, Squadron Leader, Royal Air Force
Charles Henry Lyell, Major, British Army
Angus Alexander Mackintosh, Captain, Royal Horse Guards, United Kingdom
Harry James Maxted, Wing Commander, Royal Air Force
Francis D. Milne - Australian Air Forces Killed In World War II
Alexander Reid Moir, Major, British Army, British Air Commission
Victor Potgieter, Lieutenant, South African Army
James Schofield, Royal Marine Light Infantry - H. M. Yacht Warrior - World War I
Ruth Patricia Watson - British Women's Air Force
Orde Charles Wingate - British General
Arcangelo Prudenza - Italian Prisoner of War

 

Spidge, Kyt
Thanks; now I know that the grave I found is that of Wingate's parents and sister only. Interesting, nonetheless.
The links on the Arlington site were interesting as well - the one about the Iraqi officer killed with US aircrew recently was also interesting.
Adrian

 

What Wingate Wrought
What Wingate Wrought | The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard

 

In 1983, whilst on a Fly/Drive tour of the US East Coast, I visited Washington and Arlington Military Cemetery.

If only I had known at the time that Wingate was buried there it would have been one of my first ports of call, the man has always fascinated me.

Ron

 

What Wingate Wrought
What Wingate Wrought | The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard

Thanks for posting as always. A pretty comprehensive mini-bio there.

I've been working on a page for the website entitled Chindit Cemeteries, Graves and Memorials. It features his own memorials, so I'll post a link here later.

 

As promised earlier here is the link to my web page containing Wingate's memorials etc. I didn't use Adrian's original photo (see first post on this thread) out of respect for the Wingate family and their wishes from back then.

His section begins about a quarter of the way down the page.

Memorials and Cemeteries - Chindit Chasing, Operation Longcloth 1943

 

What Wingate Wrought
What Wingate Wrought | The Weekly Standard
The Weekly Standard

Some interesting material, but I think Boot misrepresents the opposition in the wartime Army to the metastasizing of special forces units. It wasn't just snobbery; there were urgent issues of efficient manpower allocation too. Brooke and (Sir Ronald) Adam were never won over to the merits of the commandos, nor Slim the Chindits.

Best, Alan

 

No fascination for me.

A war criminal and a disgrace to the British Uniform.

Should have been court marshaled several times.

 

ORDE WINGATE and the BRITISH ARMY 1922-1944 - Military Thought and Practice Compared and Contrasted

 

ORDE WINGATE and the BRITISH ARMY 1922-1944 - Military Thought and Practice Compared and Contrasted

Thanks Wills,

If anyone wants Simon's paper I have it as a Word Document.

 

I am a later-comer to this thread but I thought the attached photos of General Wingates grave in Arlington National Cemetry might be of interest. The grave is Section 12 Grave 288. I always try to pay my respects when I'm in DC. For orientation, the road that you can see behind the headstone is Grant Drive.

 

One of our forum members made a journey to the original crash site this year (2018):

Floral Tribute paid to General Orde Wingate

 

Thanks for letting me know. It's a journey I'd like to make myself. I'm hoping to head back to Borneo to a commemoration of a Confrontation-era jungle warrior later in the year, so I may take a side trip!

 

Whoops! I obviously missed the fact that you'd already posted the grave site! Apologies for repeat post!

 

No worries at all, there is quite a bit of discussion on the forum in regards Orde Wingate.

 

half of the citation for D.S.O. for Orde Wingate, in Palestine before the war.

WO 373/92/113

 

Aren't awards like DSOs only awarded with testimony from another officer ?

 

Here are all three citations for his DSO and 2 Bars: