Seeking Cemetery Photos - First World War RCR Graves - COMPLETED

[Michael OLeary]

Jerry thank you.  The soldiers I am looking for are those who are officially recorded as war dead from the First World War and are recorded in the Books of Remembrance as such.

But please do check the cemetery when you have time. The Regt Adjt, I am sure, would welcome the details on any other Royal Canadians to add to the Regiment's Roll of Honour.  So many were lost over time, and their deaths never recorded by the Regiment, that identifying those in cemeteries remains our only way to bring them back into the Regiment's knowledge.

Mike

[Jerry Robertson]

Mike,
I will go to Gravenhurst soon and get a pic for you. I also found a Royal in the Acton cemetary which I will take a pic for as well.
Jerry

[Michael OLeary]

Jerry, thank you very much.

I was able to add Ottawa's Notre Dame Cemetery to the completed list after this past weekend.

Mike

[Michael OLeary]

The generous contribution of time and photography by a member of the Great War Forum has added a few more cemeteries in Belgium to my completed list:

Sanctuary Wood Cemetery
Bedford House Cemetery (Enclosure 4)
Dozinghem Military Cemetery
Lindenhoek Chalet Military Cemetery
Vlamertinghe New Military Cemetery

The search for the remaining Canadian photos goes on.

Pro Patria

[Mike Blais]

Mike, I went to Victoria Lawns again, they have no record of Brix.

[Michael OLeary]

Mike, I went to Victoria Lawns again, they have no record of Brix.

Mike, thank you.  That is curious, but the War Graves Commission records are 90 years old, so the details may no longer be accurate for any particular grave.

[Michael OLeary]

British Columbia is now complete with the addition of Sgt Demaray's grave photo in the Prince George Cemetery.

The current updated list of remaining Canadian cemeteries is:

New Brunswick

• Black River Cemetery (1)

Nova Scotia

• Lower Wood Harbour (Greenwood) Cemetery (1)
• Bear River (Mount Hope) Cemetery (1)

Ontario

• Gravenhurst (Lakeview) Cemetery (1)

Quebec

• Montreal (Mount Royal) Cemetery (1 of 4 to be photographed)

If anyone has an opportunity to visit and take a photo I would appreciate it.
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[Michael OLeary]

Kentville (Oak Grove) Cemetery completed 8 Dec 2009.

[Michael OLeary]

See this page on Great War cemeteries where Royal Canadian are buried for stats showing progress on gathering grave photos:

The Royal Canadian Regiment and The First World War - Cemeteries

• 120 of 178 cemeteries completed.
• 461 photographs received of known graves and memorial names (out of 816).

[Michael OLeary]

I have now received the last photos from the three cemeteries in Germany which hold soldiers of the Regiment from the First World War.  Each of these five Royal Canadians died of wounds while they were Prisoners of War:

Cologne Southern Cemetery (1)
Hamburg Cemetery (3)
Niederzwehren Cemetery (1)

[Michael OLeary]

I am pleased to be able to report that today I received the last of the grave photos I have been seeking from Belgium.  A very generous Belgian gentleman, who I only know as 'Fred' from his e-mail signatures and 'BigJim' as his nickname on the Canadian Expeditionary Force Study Group has visited 13 Belgian cemeteries (plus one in France) on behalf of this project.  'Fred' has provided me with photos of the graves of 44 Royal Canadians buried in these cemeteries:

In Belgium:

Divisional Collecting Post Cemetery Extension (1)
Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery (1)
Locre Churchyard (1)
La Clytte Military Cemetery (1)
Maple Copse Cemetery (3)
Mendinghem Military Cemetery (2)
Menin Gate (Ypres) Memorial
Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery (21)
Oxford Road Cemetery (1)
Poperinghe New Military Cemetery (1)
Railway Dugouts Burial Ground (2)
Ridge Wood Military Cemetery (1)
St. Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery (7)

And in France:

Meteren Military Cemetery (2)

I have posted a public thanks to 'Fred' on the CEF Study Group message board here.

Of 179 cemeteries worldwide that hold the Regiment's casualties from the First World War, I now have photos of those soldiers' graves from 133 of those cemeteries.  The remaining cemeteries can be seen on these pages (click on the icons on the map pages for a link to the individual cemetery pages):

Seeking RCR Grave Photos in Canada
Seeking RCR Grave Photos in France

See all cemeteries - Link to LIST - Link to MAP

To date, my website now contains the photos of the graves of 481 of the Regiments casualties of the First World War.  158 individual known graves remain to be photographed. There are also 178 names on the Vimy Memorial other than those of which I have photos.

[Michael OLeary]

I am pleased to report that I have added both cemeteries in Bermuda to my completed list.

    * Calvary (Prospect) Roman Catholic Cemetery
    * Prospect Hill Military Cemetery

The full list of cemeteries holding RCR casualties of the First World War can be found here.

[Michael OLeary]

Thanks to "Nordwind," a member of the forums at Army.ca, the grave of Private Whitman Nickerson in the Lower Wood Harbour (Greenwood) Cemetery (Nova Scotia) has been photographed and added to the project.

This leaves only three cemeteries in Canada to be completed (plus a few remaining in France.

[Michael OLeary]

Thanks to the amazing generosity of Peter Bennett, a member of the Great War Forum, addition of cemetery photos:

Aix-Noulette Communal Cemetery Extension
Beehive Cemetery (Willerval)
Bois-Carre British Cemetery
Hourges Orchard Cemetery
Longueau British Cemetery

This leaves only 19 cemeteries out of 182 remaining to have photos taken of First World War casualties of the Regiment.

See the full list of cemeteries here.

[Michael OLeary]

I continue to be humbled by the support I have received from 'strangers' in my search for grave and memorial photos of Royal Canadians who are the Regiment's war dead of the First World War. Within the past few days, I have received from Pierre Vandervelden, a member of the Great War Forum, images of almost every name of a Royal Canadian on the Vimy Memorial. He has taken the time to photograph 180 names (missing only 3), prepare and label the images and e-mail to me for my webpage.

Vimy Memorial

See the full list of Cemeteries.

See here the remaining cemeteries in France and Canada.

Pro Patria