Monday, 20 June 2011
New Home for News Items
There is a lot of information out there for those who are interested in Cemeteries and Graveyards. Rather than 'clutter' this area, I thought I would link to interesting news items on my Facebook fan page for The Graveyard Detective. Click HERE to visit or scroll down to Follow us on Facebook - just above My Blog List.
40 Hauntingly Beautiful Photographs of Graves Taken In Graveyards and Cemeteries
I thought these photographs might be of interest to people. Enjoy!
Friday, 17 June 2011
Waiting for the Embalming Process to Begin
It was a chance find. A piece of cloth and a small envelope of snapshots. Together, they revealed a little known episode of military history. This is what I know. The piece of white material is an arm band. It bears the letters C A M C and was worn by US servicemen and women working at the Cambridge American Military Cemetery.
The cemetery was first established in December 1943 on 30.5 acres of land donated by the University of Cambridge. It was selected as a permanent American Military Cemetery, not only because of its scenic grandeur, but also because a large proportion of American casualties occurred in this general area of East Anglia. The cemetery was not dedicated until July 1956.
It contains 3,809 headstones, with the remains of 3,812 servicemen, including airmen who died over Europe and sailors from North Atlantic convoys. What isn't well documented is that, with the Graves Registration unit based there, a team of uniformed embalmers worked tirelessly to 'prepare' the bodies for burial. This surprised me as I always imagined that the bodies - after all the accounting paperwork was processed and the personal effects collected - were simply placed into a coffin and buried with due military honours. How do I know this?
Well, the arm band came with a newspaper cutting and a number of photographs of the preparation room in the embalming huts. The cutting records that Technical Sgt Jimmy was based at the Cemetery and was a practising embalmer. Indeed, while there he was admitted to the British Institute of Embalmers.
Jimmy was born on 23 Feb 1914. He enlisted in Baltimore in April 1941 and his occupation was recorded as embalmer and undertaker. He died in Cumberland, MD aged 96 on 21 April 2010.
When you look at the photographs which are marked on the reverse with the words 'Prep. Room', you will notice all the paraphenalia hanging around including piping and hoses used in the process of embalming. If the white sheet draped over the embalming tables is raised, then a body is under the sheet awaiting preparation. When I look at them, it gives me the shivers.
The cemetery was first established in December 1943 on 30.5 acres of land donated by the University of Cambridge. It was selected as a permanent American Military Cemetery, not only because of its scenic grandeur, but also because a large proportion of American casualties occurred in this general area of East Anglia. The cemetery was not dedicated until July 1956.
It contains 3,809 headstones, with the remains of 3,812 servicemen, including airmen who died over Europe and sailors from North Atlantic convoys. What isn't well documented is that, with the Graves Registration unit based there, a team of uniformed embalmers worked tirelessly to 'prepare' the bodies for burial. This surprised me as I always imagined that the bodies - after all the accounting paperwork was processed and the personal effects collected - were simply placed into a coffin and buried with due military honours. How do I know this?
Well, the arm band came with a newspaper cutting and a number of photographs of the preparation room in the embalming huts. The cutting records that Technical Sgt Jimmy was based at the Cemetery and was a practising embalmer. Indeed, while there he was admitted to the British Institute of Embalmers.
Jimmy was born on 23 Feb 1914. He enlisted in Baltimore in April 1941 and his occupation was recorded as embalmer and undertaker. He died in Cumberland, MD aged 96 on 21 April 2010.
When you look at the photographs which are marked on the reverse with the words 'Prep. Room', you will notice all the paraphenalia hanging around including piping and hoses used in the process of embalming. If the white sheet draped over the embalming tables is raised, then a body is under the sheet awaiting preparation. When I look at them, it gives me the shivers.
 |
| Photograph: American Battle Monuments Commission (courtesy of Creative Commons) Download a copy of the 1945 Graves Registration Manual HERE. It is a fascinating document. View or download the illustrated Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial Guide HERE View a video of the Cemetery HERE |
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
Floral Tributes on double graves of the First World War
This photograph shows a number of graves in Bois Guillaume Communal Cemetery which is located in the north east of Rouen. The two plots in the cemetery were reserved for Commonwealth burials from September 1914 to March 1917. For the most part, the burials took place from No. 8 General Hospital which was quartered in a large private house and grounds. The second plot contains the graves of servicemen killed in a railway accident on February 14, 1917. What is unusual is that all the burials pictured are double grave plots. Each grave has two wooden crosses at its head.
I was able to identify the location thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Debt of Honour website - a searchable database for First and Second World War casualties. A grave on the right is to Private Alfred Jacob Cripps of the Army Veterinary Corps. Attached to the 7th Veterinary Hospital, he died on February 2, 1915. Click on the image, and then again, for a close-up view.
I was able to identify the location thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Debt of Honour website - a searchable database for First and Second World War casualties. A grave on the right is to Private Alfred Jacob Cripps of the Army Veterinary Corps. Attached to the 7th Veterinary Hospital, he died on February 2, 1915. Click on the image, and then again, for a close-up view.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
War Damage
I was thinking recently of the terrible damage done to cemeteries by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Then I came across this souvenir postcard showing the damage caused by an artillery bombardment during the First World War. This scene of devastation was captured in the Eastern Cemetery of Reims in France.
Monday, 13 June 2011
An early view of the National Cemetery, Arlington.
An early postcard of Arlington National Cemetery. On the reverse is the description:
'The National Cemetery Arlington - where many of the Union and Confederate soldiers and sailors were buried. This is also the last resting place of a great number of titled officers who fought in the Army and Navy on both sides.' The cemetery looks, oh so different, today!
'The National Cemetery Arlington - where many of the Union and Confederate soldiers and sailors were buried. This is also the last resting place of a great number of titled officers who fought in the Army and Navy on both sides.' The cemetery looks, oh so different, today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
