SERJEANT EDWARD CHARLES EMANUEL COUSINS Service Number: 6642535 Regiment & Unit/Ship Royal Artillery Date of Death Died 21 March 1946 Age 38 years old Buried or commemorated at TOTTENHAM CEMETERY North Sec. Grave 8458. United Kingdom Country of ServiceUnited Kingdom Additional InfoSon of Edward and Maud Cousins, of Hornsey; husband of May Jessie Cousins, of Hornsey Rise. Personal InscriptionGOD TAKES OUR LOVED ONES FROM OUR HOMES BUT NEVER FROM OUR HEARTS
There seems to have been an error here. A Hornsey boy, even though serving with an Indian HAA Regt, would remain a member of the RA, but on attachment to the RIA. The CWGC records, both old and new, list him, correctly, as RA. Only the headstone is incorrect. I have visited Tottenham Cemetery very many times, but have never seen this grave.
UK, World War II Royal Artillery Tracer Cards, 1939-1948 Name: Edward Charles Emanuel Cousins Enlistment Date: 7 Mar 1938 Regiment: Royal Artillery Military Unit: Light Anti-Aircraft Branch Service Number: 6642535
The RA Tracer Card is interesting. If I’ve read it correctly, he was only with 14 Ind HAA Regt for about four months, including a lengthy spell on the X list, so it seems strange that it was thought appropriate to put that on his headstone; especially so since he died 15 months after his last service with them. It is the ‘Z List (II) India’ entry that has confused me. Does anyone know what that means? I did a quick search on here and found that another member had made a similar enquiry some time ago, but without answer that I could see.
Be interesting to know what he died from as he spent as reasonable time at St Hellier EMS (Emergency Medical Services) - Carshalton, from almost the instant he returned to UK, dying 9 about 9 months later
Received from CWGC Having investigated this case, I can confirm that the details presently held on our database and on our website entry for Serjeant Cousins are correct. What appears to have happened is that when the headstone was originally installed, someone miss interpreted the units with which he served with for most of his career (12th & 14th Indian Heavy Anti-Aircraft) as being part of the Royal Regiment of Indian Artillery. This was not the case as both of these units were part of the Royal Artillery. Additionally, as of the 30th June 1945 he had been posted from the Indian Heavy Anti-Aircraft to Depot and therefore should just have Royal Artillery on his headstone. As a result of the above, I have now placed a request into our works programme to have the headstone replaced in order to correct both the badge and regiment line(s). The emblem will also change from a Latin Cross to a Broad Cross as the Royal Artillery is a Broad Cross regiment. Owing to the present situation, I cannot provide you with a definitive timescale to its completion but rest assured, matters are now in hand to have it corrected. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Kind Regards
Well, a good and a bad result really. He will get the correct headstone at last, and that is the most important thing, but this part of the CWGC email worries me. 12 and 14 Indian HAA Regiments were indeed units of the (Royal) Indian Artillery, not the Royal Artillery. It was perfectly normal practice to attach BOR artillerymen to Indian Regiments, in just the same way as most of the officers of Indian Artillery regiments. The CWGC should know that. The important facts are that he enlisted in the Royal Artillery, and remained a member of that regiment, regardless of his attachments to other units. Right result - wrong reason.