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A SAD ENDING? WW1 Memorial Stone


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Good link, General - I am now inspired to find out more about the exploits of my mother's father, who died when I was 7.

 

The only story I remember him telling was of getting his false teeth blown out during the battle of the Somme - he later found them embedded in a tree (lucky to find a tree left....). His full story was lost with the death of my mother. I do have his service number and pay book, so that's a start.

 

And Rick - that is great work! If it's OK with you, I'll copy this and take to the Regiment museum tomorrow with some other info, as they would not have access to this members-only section of the forum, and it will give them a head start. Many thanks indeed.

 

The auctioneer is chasing up the vendor (well-known to him) to see what info he can get, this is turning into a real team effort.

 

With regard to publicity at a local level, I'd like to wait until this gets pulled together a bit more, particularly with regard to possible family matters, before rushing in. It would be good if any publicity could be seen to be FORUM based.

 

 

Tony, I had a look at http://www.rlcmuseumfriends.com to read up on Andy Robertshaw and No Man's Land. Interesting stuff, it's amazing how much energy goes into all this by some people!

 

If you (or anyone else) would like to steer or lead this in a particular direction for the benefit of the Forum, that is fine with me.

 

 

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I couldnt work out his first name? Googled his father (quiet day in the office!), Henry Charles Jackson and mother, Emma. Henry came from a large family of 12 other brothers and sisters. Part of a family tree on t'internet, couldnt find out much more about him. If you want to get more details on his locations , you will need to get to see the war diaries for his unit. i was lucky enough to pick up a set of these for my grandads unit actions in the BEF 1939 off Ebay.(+ a detailed commemorative copy of all casualties).

For his father and brothers (his uncles), 3 out of 4 of which died the last weeks of the war, I managed to trace more or less from village to village their movements. Internet, a couple of good detailed books from amazon or similar, and a couple of trips to the local library, can open a lot of doors, and remarkable stories...

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Dont worry about it! :roll: :angel: Just think of the fascination and wonder in her eyes after her hard day at work, when you regail her with your fantastic research.........hopefully anyway.... :shake:

 

On the same subject. Anyone wanting to do a bit of research into the last year of the war, which probably saw most of the casualties, with the German offensive, then the Allied offensive which followed, would do well to have a copy of this book.

width=240 height=240http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o72/rik242_2006/41MT9PEFE9L__AA240_.jpg[/img]

Lyn MacDonald has written a few superb historical books on WW1, and detailed enough to trace units by.

 

(Thats my evening sorted!)

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Shoot this down in flames if you want to, but this is panning out to be an interesting story of a memorial stone, found by someone, researched by someone else and conveyed to France by another someone (in the back of a dodge? :whistle:) - and the common link is - you got it, HMVF.

 

Could yet someone else lend Jack some clean-ish clothes for a national newspaper photoshoot? :-D

 

Now where's that explosive "instant paint" cannister?

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ok this is an amazing story - another one of those 'journeys' that I so often talk about. And as already pointed out and beautiful run up to November 11th.

 

This is extremely noble N.O.S and this is HMVF at its best. We should talk.

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Fantastic post this. Well done!

 

The stone looks like the sort that has been taken out of a church or memorial hall. Churches are being turned into houses more often these days and you wonder what happens to all of the memorial tablets like this. I understand that the CWG have a place of storage for keeping old memorial stones which have lost their place of residence. It would be nice to find a better location for this one though.

 

Tim (too)

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Googled his father (quiet day in the office!), Henry Charles Jackson and mother, Emma. Henry came from a large family of 12 other brothers and sisters. Part of a family tree on t'internet, couldnt find out much more about him.

For his father and brothers (his uncles), 3 out of 4 of which died the last weeks of the war, I managed to trace more or less from village to village their movements.

 

 

Rick - can you give me a lead here? I've been messing about on google and odd sites for ages and just cannot get on the trail. Alternatively a village / parish?

Cheers, Tony

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Rick you have done a fantastic job. The poignant thing is at the age of 24 when we were chasing girls and trying to make excuses to the boss, why we turned up for work with a hangover, this man died for his country comrades and belief in doing right. He oh so nearly made it through. The Greeks believed a man never dies whilst his name is remembered, you have given him back life.

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just had a look at cwgc.org and he is buried at red cross corner cemetery

beugny row 11 b 20 the initals are jackson b i

 

hope this helps

Plot I of the cemetery (except Row K) was made between April 1917 and March 1918 by field ambulances and fighting units. When the cemetery fell into German hands in March 1918, they added the 25 Commonwealth burials that make up Row K (all from 21 March 1918) and began another cemetery alongside (Beugny Military Cemetery No. 3). Commonwealth forces retook the cemetery in September 1918 and added Plot II to the original burials. The German graves were removed after the Armistice, and the Commonwealth burials among them were transferred partly to Delsaux Farm Cemetery and partly to Favreuil British Cemetery. Red Cross Corner Cemetery now contains 219 Commonwealth burials and commemorations of the First World War. 12 of the burials are unidentified and one casualty whose grave was destroyed by shell fire in 1918 is commemorated by a special memorial. The cemetery was designed by W H Cowlishaw.

 

 

Beugny is a village 5 kilometres north-east of Bapaume on the N30, Bapaume to Cambrai road. Red Cross Corner Cemetery is on the west side of the village to the south side of the N30. CWGC signs on the N30 indicate the Cemetery

 

Wheelchair access with some difficulty. For further information regarding wheelchair access, please contact our enquiries department on telephone number 01628 634221

 

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Yes, a lot of these graves, indeed the cemetary was created by aid stations. The crucial point here is that he must have dies while the BEF were counterattacking the German positions, in one of the last acts of the war. The Cemetary lies directly in the path he would have been fighting over.

 

A call for a new board to be set up maybe Jack? On researching the people as well? Restorations of persons?

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N.O.S. the link

http://www.our-families.info/famtree/individual.php?pid=I12418&ged=Osborne.ged

Its a long shot but the birth date of his father would fit nicely.

 

Another note when dealing with units or regiments from WW1, because of the high rate of attrition, many units ceased to exist and people were amalgamated into other regiments/units. One person could have served with, for example, OxonBucks Light Infantry, Somerset Yeomanry etc,etc. So he may not have started his army life in the Norfolks. Usually a web search , starting with the Norfolks will tell you what you need to know. A Roll of Honour for that particular county's regiment gives a lot more info, nost libraries are accomodating if you ring them up, they will have a look for you.

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Another link.

http://www.rnrm.org.uk/history/history_08.html

 

And a must see link for anyone delving in this subject. It is a online library of all casualties who fell. It lists the names of people on war memorials all over the country. Have had a quick look at Norfolk, but could find no matches, but it does come up with a whole list of Jacksons. Read at your leisure. It also gives details of what you might find at the library. ;-)

http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Norfolk/

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I'm having a job keeping up to speed on all this. :cofee:

 

The Thetford connection from war memorial ties in with the auction location which was Diss. How did you manage that? Or am I just 'website illiterate'?

 

I will call at the Regiment museum with info for them tomorrow, might even be able to come away with the information we need, and should hopefully hear back from auctioneer.

 

The thought those 3 uncles, and the chap's father lost as well, shows what a devastating effect WW1 must have had on a lot of families.

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I was about to ask you where the stone came from. No, your're not web illiterate, just a question of knowing where to look! Ive traced a relative from his sign up point, to his embarkation point at Southampton, to waiting in Egypt before going to gallipoli, where his war grave is. Even down to the name of the ship.

And yes tony, you are right, but for some reason Ive found it easier to trace WW1 relatives more than my grandfather in WW2.

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This thread is amazing,................

 

Congratulations to all concerned.

N.O.S, for putting his money on the line,..............and doing the right thing,

Rick, Tony, David, et al for digging away and comming up with the details posted within this thread.

Jack, for hosting a forum where the infomation and advice can be posted and accessed by those with an interest.

 

From someone, with an interest, but without the knowledge of where to look,

THANKS ALL.

 

 

Andy

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well at the minute ive found he took part in the amiens offensive and the closest ive got is queant which is 4.9 miles from the cemetary but if you can get the trench map 57c nw4 then will be able to pinpoint exactly where the 15th brigade were

On 21 August, the British Third Army (Byng) to the north of Rawlinson and the First Army (Horne), even further north, joined in as the attack was renewed. The French Tenth and Third Armies also attacked again. In response to a significant advance by the British First Army, Ludendorff ordered a general withdrawal along the 55-mile front. He came under further pressure as the Anzacs advanced across the Somme on 30-31 August, taking Péronne and Mont St Quentin. Near Quéant, on the northern flank, the Canadian corps broke through on 2 September.

 

In these unfavourable circumstances the Germans, who had suffered heavy losses, were forced, on 3 September, to retire to the Hindenburg Line, their starting point in the March offensive, bringing the whole operation to a close. By 10 September, the Allies had closed up to the new line. The Amiens salient had been eliminated in a major Allied victory that finally convinced Ludendorff of the need to end the war. Haig, who had used all his available reserves, was unable to exploit the British victory further.

 

Source

An Illustrated Companion to the First World War by Anthony Bruce

 

 

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Wow!!

I am so impressed with the quick work carried out by the people here, from buying the stone (great, great gesture) to finding out where the deed happened is an astounding bit of work so congratulations to all involved.

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