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Soldier 'Known unto God'

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  • Soldier 'Known unto God'

    Recently I was in Shorncliffe Military Cemetery near Folkestone, Kent and noticed a headstone to an unknown soldier of the Great War.
    Death date was shown, so what might be the circumstances of his name not being known?
    Unknown people buried abroad after battles I can fully understand, but what might have happened in Kent?

    Gwyn

  • #2
    Evacuated from a battlefield with no ID and unable to communicate before he died?

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    • #3
      thats so sad, wonder if his family knew where he was buried ?
      Last edited by Guest; 02-05-15, 21:47.

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      • #4
        Jill
        There was a military hospital at Shorncliffe, so that scenario did occur to me, but wouldn't someone have at least known which regiment or corps he was with?
        Didn't soldiers wear ID tags?

        Val
        It is sad, but I guess there were many grieving families, who never knew where their loved ones were buried.
        His grave is beautifully kept, so that is something.

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        • #5
          I'll ask a question on the great war forum.
          Whoever said Seek and Ye shall find was not a genealogist.

          David

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          • #6
            Gee that was quick, replies on the GWF that is.

            CWGC say that the soldier in question is of WW2 origin and was Polish. No further details available. Another reply was that he was probably bought back to UK

            injured, and an admin error meant that his papers/id were mislaid.

            Incidentally did you take note of the date of burial ? as we could be talking of two different events here.
            Last edited by grumpy; 02-05-15, 22:51.
            Whoever said Seek and Ye shall find was not a genealogist.

            David

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            • #7
              Thank you all for your replies.

              Grumpy
              Thank you for asking on the other forum.
              I didn't take notes, but it's not too far to go back and find that information.
              If I remember correctly, it was a death in 1st World War.
              I did note a named Polish grave in the cemetery, probably because it was unusual,but again have no details, although I think that was probably 2nd World War.

              I will add further details to this thread, when I've visited again.

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              • #8
                This may be way off beam but all the "Known unto God" burial records I have seen in my research have been for drowned people, or, to be blunt, parts of bodies washed up.

                OC

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                • #9
                  My husband and I did a tour of Far East graveyards i.e. Thailand and Singapore - there were many, many graves with "known only unto God" on them - so sad. It is very common that tags are lost and parts of body are lost - family aren't there to identify them either, just their comrades if they are still alive.
                  Machine guns and tanks etc do terrible damage. Sue
                  Last edited by Sue1; 04-05-15, 18:13.

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                  • #10
                    OC
                    I hadn't thought about drowning, although this is entirely possible, as Shorncliffe is just up the hill from the English Channel.

                    Sue1
                    I can more readily understand an unknown soldier being buried near a battle ground, but it was a burial on an English hillside, which seemed strange, especially as date of death was known.

                    I'll try to go back in the next few days to obtain more information.

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                    • #11
                      I remembered incorrectly, ....Sorry

                      The unknown soldier was from the second World War and died on 31 May 1940.
                      Immediately to the left of his headstone, with no usual regular spacing between graves, there is the grave of W. H.BAIRD, who died on 28th May 1940 and shown on the Commonwealth War Graves site here.....


                      I looked for the grave of the Polish soldier.
                      He was
                      Kan
                      F.Marszal who died 11th October 1946.

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                      • #12
                        Thanks Gwyn, no problems. couldn't ask a question now, the GWF is quite strict (and they should be), on questions relating to any incident outside the GW time frames.
                        Whoever said Seek and Ye shall find was not a genealogist.

                        David

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                        • #13
                          Grumpy
                          That's fair enough. Thank you for your interest.

                          I'm still puzzling over this, as I've been hunting for a death registration for William Baird, who is in the adjacent grave.
                          I can't find a suitable record listed.

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