1805 Info 8k for John Henry Crompton |
The process of clearing the dead from the battlefields of the Western Front began on 18 November 1918, conducted by Labour Companies and Department of Grave Registration and Enquiries (DGR&E) personnel. It was a huge endeavour. By April 1919 over 18,000 men were engaged in the task and more were needed - between six and nine men were required to exhume a body, transport it and re-bury it in the cemeteries being constructed by the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC). In August 1921, when 204,654 remains had been concentrated, the Army declared the task to be finished, and responsibility was transferred to the IWGC. The task, of course, was far from over — approximately 300,000 of the dead remained unaccounted for. Between 1921 and 1928, a further 28,036 remains were recovered, with approximately 10,000 more up to 1937.
Peter Hodgkinson in focusing on Tyne Cot, perhaps describes the process by which John Henry Crompton's body may have been found in the relevant map square (see sheet 10) and removed to Tyne Cot as a burial 'Known unto God'.
Process and experience
Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world, sits on the Broodseinde Ridge on the Ypres battlefield, and contains 3,605 identified and over 8,370 unidentified burials. Of the 'known', 343 are original burials from 6 October 1917 to the end of March 1918, when one of the pill boxes was used as an advanced dressing station. In the post-war period 194 bodies were concentrated from eight small cemeteries, 92 of these having been buried by the Germans. The rest of the 'unknown' burials in Tyne Cot are of the 'missing' brought in from the Ypres battlefield.
The process of exhumation was as follows. A Survey Officer selected 500 yard squares to be searched, indicating to the Burial Officer the anticipated number of remains based on the records of DGR&E. These were often inaccurate. For instance, in one location - a map square of 1,000 square yards - 'information reported 11 isolated graves, careful search reveals 67'. Similarly, in another area 'in one fortnight no remains (were) found under 4% of crosses erected'. Again see sheet 10.
Exhumation companies comprised squads of 32 men. Each squad was supplied with 'two pairs of rubber gloves, two shovels, stakes to mark the location of graves found, canvas and rope to tie up remains, stretchers, cresol (a poisonous, colourless isomeric phenol) and wire cutters'. Experience was the only method of knowing where to dig. Indeed, the IWGC noted that: 'Unless previously experienced men are employed ... 80% of the bodies which remain to be picked up would never be found'. Indications of remains included:
The remains were placed on cresol soaked canvas. For identification purposes, a careful examination of pockets, the neck, wrists and braces for identification tags was required.
Hodgkinson used the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on-line database. If a 'Burial Return - Concentration of Graves (Exhumation and Reburials)' form existed, the means of identification for each soldier listed, successfully identified or not, was noted. 3,592 of the 3,605 identified dead were thus located, although in 12 per cent of cases either the burial return was not attached to the individual's record, or (more infrequently) the wrong form was attached or the details of identification not given. The limited means of identification of 6,848 unknown soldiers were noted from the total 8,370.
The forms contain a myriad of errors and corrections. Some of these clearly arose phonetically - one person read out a name, another wrote it down incorrectly. As the recovered means of identification were returned to base, it is clear that a second stage of checking was carried out, with errors corrected and partial identifications converted to full identifications. A further level of introduction of error was created when forms were typed up from the handwritten returns.
Burial had, of course, occurred in an organised way during the fighting. Indeed, 325 bodies (10 per cent) were recovered from under crosses, either Graves Registration Unit or divisional. A further 65 soldiers were recovered from under German-made crosses or a 'crude cross', which sounds very much as if he was buried by his comrades.
Identity
The most common and formal form of identification was the identity disc, by which 2,183 soldiers were identified, 61 per cent of the 'known'. The British Army introduced identity discs in 1907. They were produced from aluminium and Army Order 9 of that year laid down that all soldiers should wear a single tag, with the name, rank, number, regiment and religion stamped into it. Field Service Regulations Part II, 1909, (with amendments of October 1914), stated that: 'Anyone concerned with burying a soldier, or finding a body after an action, will remove the identity disc and pay book'. In August 1914 it was decided to move away from a metal tag, to a single red vulcanised asbestos fibre disc. On 24 September 1916 a second disc was introduced by General Routine Order 1922 also made of compressed fibre (distrusting longevity, soldiers often carried personal, metal ones). The two tags required stringing in a particular way. An eight-sided green tag with two holes was strung through one hole and hung around the neck. Through the second hole another much shorter cord was strung, which had a round red tag on it. This method allowed the red tag to be retrieved simply by cutting its short string, leaving the green tag still in place on the body. Others subsequently finding a body with only a green tag would know that the death had been reported. However, it was only in 1920 that the army issued unique numbers. During the war, each regiment issued its own number.
One hundred and sixty-six bodies were recorded as wearing 'discs', ie at least two. The burial return notes: '38200 on cross, 36920 on disc'. One hundred and sixty discs were described as damaged in some way, yet identification was achieved by decoding damaged service numbers, decoding damaged names and matching them to the regimental rolls, sometimes at the second stage of checking, a process which must have taken thought, time and ingenuity. Whilst only a small number, 3 per cent, became casualties prior to the two disc era, their fibre tags having lasted in the ground for up six years.
Informal inscription
The second formal method of identification was the AB (Army Book) 64, the active service pay book. It is remarkable, given the waterlogged conditions of the Ypres Salient, that this cloth-bound object survived. Yet in 124 cases it was the primary means of identification, and was listed in a further 60 exhumations as a secondary source of identification to a disc
Equipment also aided identification, when soldiers had informally inscribed them with service numbers or names. One suspects that they did so to protect ownership rather than prove identity in the event of their demise. This was the first means of identification in 149 cases. Soldiers had inscribed such varied items as their groundsheet, cutlery, plate, mess tin, canteen cover, clothing, boot(s), straps, buckle, helmet cover, breech/rifle cover, gas mask, map, route book, section roll book, compass and torch.
Personal items gave identities to 192 soldiers (6 per cent of all identifications). Perhaps surprisingly it was correspondence — the personal possession most vulnerable to water - that was most frequently used, in just over half these cases (106 men). Other paper items that survived were books (including several bibles), photos, a cutting from a newspaper, cheque and bank books, a visiting card, certificates, and wills.
Wallets provided identification in 12 cases, also a tobacco pouch. Of more substantial items, cigarette cases, watches, matchboxes, trinket boxes, lockets and razors had been inscribed, as had a rosary. In several cases an insurance tab attached to keys gave a name.
The 'Unknown'
Less than one in three of the remains uncovered by the Passchendaele exhumation squads would be identified. The reasons are probably painfully obvious, but the notes against some of the unidentified in the burial returns elucidate - 'Bones in sandbag' or 'Remains badly shattered' speak volumes. One hundred and thirteen of the unknown were found under crosses, 75 with their discs, yet both had either deteriorated or been damaged to the extent that they were not fit for purpose. Of the 6,848 unidentified listed in the burial returns consulted, 1,489 (22 per cent) have absolutely nothing recorded in the means of identification column, even though they were recorded as UBS, UAS or UCS depending on their nationality, (Unknown British Soldier, Australian or Canadian). Although nothing was recorded, uniform was probably the key factor. A further 1,864 (27 per cent) have only 'clothing' recorded to indicate their nationality. Thus, nearly half the unknown have their only nationality recorded on their graves.
Just under a third of all the 'unknown' - 2,147 soldiers - have their regiments listed on the stones beneath which they lie. This level of identification was achieved for two-thirds through the preservation of their regimental numeral. Whilst shoulder titles are specifically noted for a further 155 (these being metal, but also sometimes cloth), the numeral was part of the title, located on the shoulder strap. In only 353 cases did regimental badge contribute, (often found in soldiers' pockets). Further, 34 Scottish soldiers had their regiments identified by the tartan of their kilts. For 158, often dominion soldiers, their unit was identified. In 310 cases, badges of rank were recovered to add further detail to a gravestone.
Numbers
A number of service numbers were recorded on the burial returns of the unknown. Reference to the CWGC database shows 22 dead soldiers alone with the same number, and five with that number with prefixes. This figure swells to 79 when the medal roll indexes are searched.
Remarkable achievement
In April 1920 it was noted that of corpses found with effects, 20 per cent were identified by identity discs; 25 per cent were confirmed by discs; 30 per cent were identified by other methods; with 25 per cent unidentifiable. In contrast, approximately 31 per cent of the Tyne Cot dead were identified. During the period 1921 to 1928 the IWGC calculated that only 25 per cent identification was achieved. The longer the remains were in the ground the chance of identification diminished.
The very notion of beginning to search for half a million dead men in the poisoned marshes, undergrowth and churned ground of the devastated zones of the battlefields of the Great War was one that was fraught with impossibilities. In an age when computer databases are taken for granted, the reams of paper that were needed to compare the details of the dead with the details of the millions who served is difficult to comprehend. It is remarkable that so much was achieved rather than so little. It is clear from the records of the known that care was taken and that the several stage checking process achieved results. It is clear from the records of the unknown just how insurmountable some of the difficulties were.
Clearly, the remains of John Henry Crompton, if found, were never identified. We look forward, one day, to the accidental finding and the scientific DNA testing on a newly discovered set of remains.
Source: Peter Hodgkinson, Uncovering the Dead at Tyne Cot, Stand To! No. 114, the journal of The Western Front Association, p.4
| A fuller account of Uncovering the Dead can be read by clicking on the Word document icon |
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| This page was created by Richard Crompton and maintained by Chris Glass |
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Version A4 Updated 22 March 2021 |
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