British Cemetery and Cremation Records from Deceased Online

The eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 has been commemorated this week on its hundredth anniversary. This week's post takes a look at some of the most notable burials in our collection from the First World War. Silvertown Explosion 1917 (West Ham Cemetery, London E7) The  Millennium Mills  in the aftermath of the  Silvertown explosion  - Avery, John, 1917-01-25 ( By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28065575 ) One of the worst non-military disasters of the First World War took place near the cemetery in Silvertown, East London.  On 19 January 1917, the largest explosion ever to occur in the UK ripped through the former Brunner Mond factory in Silvertown. It had been turned over to munitions production near the beginning of the war, and now manufactured highly unstable TNT. The blast was heard as far away as Southampton and Norwich. A devastating firestorm spread beyond the factory into neighbour...

This week's post explores the life and family of First World War Victoria Cross hero, Walter Napleton Stone (1891-1917), who was commemorated recently at a special ceremony in Lewisham  Politicians, relatives and local residents gathered in Lewisham High Street on 30 November 2017 to mark the unveiling of a paving stone in the name of former Blackheath resident, Captain Walter Napleton Stone VC .   The paving stone is one of 628 specially commissioned stones which are being laid in the home areas of each of the Victoria Cross recipients of the Great War. The date of 30 November commemorates the day Walter Stone was killed on the Western Front, at the Battle of Cambrai . Like many killed in action between 1914 and 1918, the grave of Walter Stone has not been found. He is remembered on a number of memorials, including the Cambrai Memorial to the Missing, the parish war memorial Shrewsbury's St Mary's Church, and on the Lewisham Shopping Centre mural.  Althoug...

This week tributes are being paid across Europe and the world to those who served one hundred years ago at the Battle of the Somme. In this week's post, I look at two extraordinary men who survived both the battle and the First World War, and whose cremation records are found in the Deceased Online database. The first day of the Battle of the Somme, the 1st of July 1916, remains the bloodiest 24 hours in British military history. Those soldiers of the British Empire who went "over the top" on this day a century ago had no idea how devastating this battle would be. Tens of thousands of men walked out of their trenches and straight into German machine-gun fire. On just this one day, 19,240 were killed and around 40,000 wounded. Those that survived were left with lifelong turmoil. Musicians like Ralph Vaughan Williams and writers such as J.R.R. Tolkein would, famously, transmute their experiences through art. Others were left with "shell shock" or what we now u...

This week everyone at Deceased Online has been delighted to learn that First World War boy hero, Jack Cornwell's grave in London's Manor Park Cemetery has been awarded Grade II listed status. John Travers Cornwell, Boy 1st class (1900–1916)  by  Ambrose McEvoy 2016 marks the centenary of the Battle of Jutland , the devastating Great War naval conflict of 31st May-1st June 1916, that led to loss of  6,094 British and 2,551 German personnel. One of those lost souls was John "Jack" Travers Cornwell (1900-1916) , who had enlisted as a young teenager in 1915. Jack Cornwell was just 16 years old when he was fatally wounded during the Battle of Jutland aboard the HMS Chester . He died two days later at hospital in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.  On the day of the 31st May, HMS Chester came under heavy fire from four German ships. Despite being hit by shrapnel, Cornwell remained at his post awaiting orders. As a result of his bravery, Cornwell became celebrated acro...

As we move towards Armistice Day 2015, in this week's post I look at some of the war dead of 1915 who feature in the Deceased Online database. Image: iStock This weekend sees Remembrance events and services across the country. Although we take this time to remember all those killed in conflict, many are using this opportunity to think of those who died 100 years ago in the first full year of the Great War. The UK Parliament will also be focusing on 1915 this year with its projection of falling poppies onto the Elizabeth Tower after dusk on Sunday. The Kent Cycling Corps enduring the mud and cold of the Western Front A few weeks ago we found the burial record of Private Claude Richmond (No. 1118), who died almost exactly 100 years ago on the 23rd September 1915. 22 year old Richmond, a gas engineer in civilian life, served with one of just nine battalions of the British Army Cyclist Corps. He was sent home after being injured while serving with the 1st Battalion Kent Cyc...

Following on from last week's post on women serving in war, this week we have a competition to win a copy of My Ancestor was a Woman at War by Emma Jolly Women's war service has been thrust into the media spotlight recently with BBC 1's Sunday night drama series, The Crimson Field . Described by the BBC as one of "the Great War’s untold stories", the drama is centred around a tented field hospital on the coast of France, where a team of doctors, nurses and women volunteers work together to heal the bodies and souls of men wounded in the trenches.One of the issues raised by the story is the harsh reality of war. As with their male counterparts, women working close to the frontline could not be prepared for the sheer number of sick and injured men that would emerge from battle. My Ancestor was a Woman at War (Society of Genealogists, 2013) looks at how to research military nurses of the Victorian era and both world wars, while outlining resource...

This Sunday marks the 94 th anniversary of the end of the Great War. In honour of the Armistice, this week’s post pays tribute to the many servicemen and women, and civilian war dead, whose burial records can be found in the Deceased Online database . Over 1,700,000 men and women of Commonwealth forces died in the two world wars. Thousands more were killed in the numerous battles and wars that have taken place across the world over past centuries. Deceased Online’s database includes not only official Commonwealth burial grounds like those in Shooter’s Hill, Greenwich, and Chester (Blacon), but records of individuals whose service is long forgotten and whose graves now lie neglected. There are collections of Allied forces from outside the Commonwealth, such as the Norwegian section in Greenwich and that of 86 Polish airmen whose graves lie in Chester, far from home. Register of Canadian Air Force burials at Blacon, Chester (from the database)  There are also bur...