I am researching Flight Sergeant Charles Stewart Bogle who was the pilot of a Lancaster bomber which was shot down over Brunswich, Germany 12-13 August, 1944. All crew were killed. Would anyone know what the abbreviation Coll. refers to please i.e. Panel number Coll. grave 19. A. 5-11. Someone suggested to me that it could mean collective as the remains of the crew from this Lancaster bar 1 were burnt beyond recognition and that their remains might have been put into a grave for each person but the remains not necessarily being only of that person. Sounds morbid but it would be handy to know. Regards Leonie
The following extracts are from 'Courage Remembered' - The story behind the construction and maintenance of the Commonwealth's Military Cemetaries and Memorials of the Wars of 1914-1918 and 1939-1946; Maj. Edwin Gibson MBE and G. Kingsley Ward, Toronto, 1989. 'When visiting a cemetery the main points of interest are.... - the alphabetical order of surnames when headstones are set up over a collective grave (any one which appears to be out of order is the one positively identified);... ... - the single graves containg several burials' p109-110 From the Glossary: Collective Grave. A war grave containing three or more Commonwealth war dead p211 Regards, Donnacha ----- Original Message ----- From: "tuminco" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 10:47 PM Subject: War Graves > I am researching Flight Sergeant Charles Stewart Bogle who was the pilot of > a Lancaster bomber which was shot down over Brunswich, Germany 12-13 August, > 1944. All crew were killed. > > Would anyone know what the abbreviation Coll. refers to please i.e. Panel > number Coll. grave 19. A. 5-11. > > Someone suggested to me that it could mean collective as the remains of the > crew from this Lancaster bar 1 were burnt beyond recognition and that their > remains might have been put into a grave for each person but the remains not > necessarily being only of that person. > > Sounds morbid but it would be handy to know. > > Regards Leonie