NEW ZEALANDERS IN LONDON

Nelson Evening Mail, 22 May 1917, Page 3

NEW ZEALANDERS IN LONDON

(From Captain Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with the N.Z. Forces.) THE REGISTRATION OF GRAVES. Northern France, March 5. | The battlefield of the Somme and the Ancre is one great graveyard. French and British and German dead lie there The last resting-place of many a brave New Zealand soldier is,, in the light and troubled soil of Picardy. In the coming years pilgrims from British lands, near and far, will come to this place to see where their fallen lie. There is one long narrow rectangle that will for ever be Gacred ground to the New Zealand pilgrim. From the heights of High Wood, or what was High Wood, leading on to the remaining splinters of Delville Wood he will look over a gently-sloping land, trench-scarred and shell-torn, across which our brave battalions marched to death and wounds and glory. For us that must be ever hallowed ground. It is. perhaps somewhat sad to think that the individual resting-places of such brave men often cannot be marked. But after all what better burying place could a man wish than the vast expanse of the Somme Battlefield? What matters it that his grave is unknown? His sacrifice is his best memorial. Yet, where individual memorials may be impossible, one would like to see some permanent National Monument raised. Our Divisional General has an idea that the Somme Battlefield might, after the war, be turned into an International Park in which suitable monuments might be raised to the memory of the British and Overseas Forces who have fallen there. Possibly that might ! be arranged with the French Government. For years the soil will be unfit foy cultivation. It has been turned over and over so often that little of the good soil now remains. It will also be dangerous to work it for several years The ■ man who soon after the war, puts aj plough into that land will earn the Mi- | litary Medal ! But what with live shells and bombs he would have little chance i of wearing it. Besides, there will be the problem of the bodies of the de*N. In time no doubt the bones of our sol diers who fell there wi'l be gathered together and buried in one place. It will be quite impracticable to put headstones over the graves that are known, but if a National Park could be formed the giments that, fought there might have their deeds and the names of their honoured dead inscribed on obelisks or other suitable memorials, and there might be one general monument of finer conception than all the rest raised in honour and in memory of the British armies that fought on the fields of Flan- j ders and in this war. CARE OF THE GRAVES. The registration and the care of the graves of British soldiers who have fallen in the war are problems of some difficulty, but already much has been done. The matter is in the hands of a branch of the AdjutanVGeneral's Department specially created for the 'purpose. There is an office at Winchester House in London, and units in connection with the work have been established in France, Belgium. Egypt, and Mesopotamia. These units registi: the position of graves wherever possible, and mark them with durable wooden crosses, bearing inscriptions in metal living the name, number, rank, regiment, and date of death. While these units have done much work in registering graves, even at the front, there are many graves at and beyond the firingline * that it is impossible to register. During the stress of battle many men arc buried in a common grave, and aften the means of identification have been blown away. In other cases, bodies have been buried and graves marked with crosses, only to have all tracer ol the grave obliterated by enemy shelling. I other cases men killed in action have fallen in shell craters, and .soon afterwards another shell has exploded near and buried them. Again, men have been buried by their companions, and unburied 'and buried again by bursting shells. till .'no trace of the original grave nor of the crosss has been left. In some cases, even within our own lines, where graves have been marked, the position is too exposed for correct plan and survey to be made. Often during heavy fighting burials have been made under circumstances that make it impossible to transmit, and in some cases even, to take, an accurate record of the position of the during the retreat and the subsequent I advance to the Aisne, there were many 'burials in isolated graves that were cared for by the French landowners and peasants, and in some cases permanent concessions, of land, were offered The French cemeteries were also used, and special grounds 1 , arranged for. At a latei stage the French Government agreed toprovide land f6r permanent restingplaces for the bodies of British officers and men This they have done at the expense of the French nation and the r Generosity in this matter has been gieatfy appreciated. There are authorised burial grounds immediately, behind the British h-ont, and'-.near the field ambulances, the casualty clearing stations, and the hospitals right back to the sea coast. The French Government volunteered to maintain these cemeteries;, but the British Government has itself taken the matter in hand, and has appointed a National Committee, ol which the Prince of Wales is president, to control the administration. . In connection with soldiers bunols the following points should be noted by those interested 1 : — . . 1 Some time may elapse after .burialbefore the grave has been properly registered and marked and the position accurately recorded. As soon as this re done a" notification will be sent to the next-of-kin. This notification may be taken as final verification or correction of informatiqni received from other sources. . ~ 2 It is not possible to arrange lor the distribution of flowers or wreaths tor

individual graves, but- the cemeteries, as a whole, are grass-sown and planted with flowers and shrubs, where military conditions allow, under the advice of the Diieetor of che Royal Botanic Gardens, :Kew. Their maintenance is xi.uder the supervision of officers of the Graves Registration Units. 3. Photographs of such graves in France and Belgium as_ are accessible te the photographers employed for the purpose are furnished to relatives on application, free of cost, out of funds placed at the disposal of the directorate, for this object as well as for the planting of burial grounds, by the Joint War Committee of the British Red Cross Society aod St. John Ambulance Association. "All applications are carefully noted and photographs are sent as soon as possible, but it will be understood that in many cases weeks or months may psiss before photographs can be .taken./ 4. 'Circumstances-not in arise which make it undesirable in the interests of the* military situation to disclose the position of a c/raye although it has been duly registered and recorded. 5. Many considerations, among' which' is the desire felt at the front to avoid inequality of treatment, have made it necessary to -forbid t£# erection of any permanent memorials duriosr the progress of hostilities; the sending of crosses to France is also prohibited, as all transport is required for material of war. . 6 The exhumation of bodies during the war is strict!v forbidden by both the French and British military authorities. ■Owing to the great difficulti.es that exist in Mesopotamia due to local and climatic conditions, the proper registration and markin? of. graves will necessarily be a lehgtihy and difficult problem. IN THE UNITED KESiGiDOM. The <rraves of New Zealand soldiers in the °United Kingdom are as far as possible in plots of ground specially set apart for the purpose. Each grave is temporarily marked with an oaken cross, on which is painted the -vyordls- "New Zealand," and the soldier's "uin-ber, name, rank, regiment, and date of death. In these plots it will afterwards be possible to have erected' a single permanent memorial to the whole of the sol : d : srs buried in the locality, while fipm time to time, as people wish, 6™vestonea may be erected at each grave. All JStew. Zealand soldiers who.die at Walttm-on-Thames and in the London area, wilt be buried in the Brookwood Cemetery, where a plot has been specially set aside for the -purpose.- : Burials" « v soldiers whodie .at the No. 1 and No. 3 Nejr. Zealand General Hospitals will be arranged locally at (Brockenhurst and- Cod- ; ford Respectively. Those of our soldiers. who dii m British Hospitals outside the London area will be juried locally The New Zealand War 'Contingent Association has been requested to . assist m keeping in orderythe outside the London area. Firing tailed from Headquarters. The Oidnajico Officer of the NuZ;E.F.. is responsible for the supply and erection of the temporary wooden crosses. TW-md IDuriii"- a recent leave visit to England, I made enquiries at Headquarters, and L"at the offices.of tlie-Drrector of Graves Registration and Enqmnes, Winchester House, St..James's Square, London and ascertained that everything practical that can'be done is being done to fie" on record the last resting-places of Jn'biave soldiers who have, fa leu ? n the war. Parents and other relatives in th« Dominion, will jbe g*ad to know this. '■.