Alexander Drummond 2335588 Royal Signals

[hijimhere]

I have an issue with a great Uncle who was in the Royal Corp of Signals based at Camp in Bury St Edmunds Suffolk. Records so far show that he died in the West Suffolk General Hospital while in service. He is listed on panel 8 of the Brookwood memorialfor those with no known grave. I am mystified as neither Suffolk nor his home town Glasgow Scotland have any burial or other record of what was done following his passing. Bury St Edmunds issued a death certificate but when I called their burial services they have no record. What's next, I have my doubts as to the body being shipped home - the informant was his Aunt who was with him at the time of his death. Any suggestions?

[Pam Downes]

Hi hijimhere,

I've moved your post to its own thread as it didn't really belong in a thread about TB, even if that was the cause of your great uncle's death.
I can move it to another thread and/or give it a better title if you wish.

I think a name, age, at least year of death, etc would be helpful in perhaps finding an answer.
Have you checked Glasgow (and possibly Bury St Edmunds) newspapers for an obituary/announcement in the births/marriages/deaths column?

Pam

[Megan Roberts]

You say you have your doubts about the body being shipped home, but why? Is that because you cannot imagine it, or because you have some hard information?

I discovered, purely by accident when standing next to my great grandfather's grave in Caernarfonshire that the double grave next to his was his brother's, and that of his first wife and four of their children. I was literally "gobsmacked" when reading the headstone to realise that his wife died in Jan 1918 in Neath, Glamorgan, from stomach cancer, and that he had brought her body 'home' to be buried with a child they had previously lost, and then in Nov of the same year, in Neath, he lost 3 further children within 2 days of one another through the Spanish flu epidemic, and he brought their bodies home too. He had taken his family to Neath, in search of work in the coal mines, so were not an affluent family. He and his surviving children returned home.

So I would check other places were family are known to be buried.

[Lesley Robertson]

As Pam said, it would be easier to help you with a name and date, even if it’s just a year, or even a birth year.
Am I right in assuming that this is WW1?

Sometimes (not often, but not quite rarely), the family claimed the body and the casualty has a private stone. These often only become known to CWGC when someone notifies them. I found two when photographing a complete burial ground in the Borders, and reported them.

“Glasgow” covers a multitude of places including the suburbs. I usually search the county rather than the city. It might also be worth contacting the Glasgow area FHS - they might know if there are nonCWGC war graves in the area. There’s also a website dedicated to in-UK war graves. Of course, his family might not have paid for a stone...

Lastly, graves do get lost lost in the UK. In the 20th century, some cemeteries became car parks. In others, the stones were moved to stand around the edges “to make the grass cutting easier”. They tended to be older grave yards, though.

[hijimhere]

Hi hijimhere,

I've moved your post to its own thread as it didn't really belong in a thread about TB, even if that was the cause of your great uncle's death.
I can move it to another thread and/or give it a better title if you wish.

I think a name, age, at least year of death, etc would be helpful in perhaps finding an answer.
Have you checked Glasgow (and possibly Bury St Edmunds) newspapers for an obituary/announcement in the births/marriages/deaths column?

Pam

The reasoning behind the post on a TB thread was deliberate as any knowledge of how TB sufferers who died in service was sought. I am a member of Ancestry I am also a subscriber to Scotland's People - exhaustive searches on Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds, Scotland and Glasgow for Alexander Drummond RCOS 2335588 died and reported 17 Sept 1941 revealed he is listed on panel 8 of the said memorial. Informant was a J MacLoud - Aunt. His address is illegible at best the attempts to decipher have been fruitless.

[peter nicholl]

Just a thought, but if he was cremated and his ashes scattered, would that count as no known grave?

[Pam Downes]

The reasoning behind the post on a TB thread was deliberate as any knowledge of how TB sufferers who died in service was sought. I am a member of Ancestry I am also a subscriber to Scotland's People - exhaustive searches on Suffolk and Bury St Edmunds, Scotland and Glasgow for Alexander Drummond RCOS 2335588 died and reported 17 Sept 1941 revealed he is listed on panel 8 of the said memorial. [B]Informant was a J MacLoud - AuntB].

Um, interesting. That's a very unusual way of spelling that surname so I thought I'd check out the 1939 Register for MacLouds. There's only three, one of them a Jane living in Stafford, and she's a nurse. I think the 'Staff C' after 'superintendent' might refer to Stafford Council.

His address is illegible at best the attempts to decipher have been fruitless.

Did you get the copy of his death certificate from the GRO?
If so, I'd throw myself on the mercy of the local Registrar Office by sending them a copy of the certificate and explaining that you can't decipher the address. Is their copy more legible and if so, would it please, pretty please with bells on, be possible for them to tell you what it is. Emphasise that you're not asking for a copy of the certificate, just a 'translation' of the address. You can explain why you're asking.
If it was Bury St Edmunds office who sent it in the first place, then send it back and say that you're sure that their office copy is not illegible and that they have a duty to send you a certificate which is equally legible.

Would you like me to amend the thread title to Alexander Drummond 2335588 Royal Signals, or leave it as it is?

Pam

[Peter Goodey]

CWGC say 'no known grave' but he died in UK

As I understand it, "no known grave" to CWGC means no grave managed by CWGC. It could be that the family took charge of the body, made their own arrangements and were not minded to hand over management of the grave to CWGC, In those circumstances CWGC's responsibilities would be limited to recording the name on a memorial.

I stand ready to be corrected about this.

[Lesley Robertson]

That fits with my observation in para 2, #4, Peter.
They were interested when I told them about the 2 I found in BEW - possibly they are more interested now that so many people are using their site?

[hijimhere]

Um, interesting. That's a very unusual way of spelling that surname so I thought I'd check out the 1939 Register for MacLouds. There's only three, one of them a Jane living in Stafford, and she's a nurse. I think the 'Staff C' after 'superintendent' might refer to Stafford Council.

Did you get the copy of his death certificate from the GRO?
If so, I'd throw myself on the mercy of the local Registrar Office by sending them a copy of the certificate and explaining that you can't decipher the address. Is their copy more legible and if so, would it please, pretty please with bells on, be possible for them to tell you what it is. Emphasise that you're not asking for a copy of the certificate, just a 'translation' of the address. You can explain why you're asking.
If it was Bury St Edmunds office who sent it in the first place, then send it back and say that you're sure that their office copy is not illegible and that they have a duty to send you a certificate which is equally legible.

Would you like me to amend the thread title to Alexander Drummond 2335588 Royal Signals, or leave it as it is?

Pam

Yes that might be a positive change thank you.