Move to recognise unrecorded names of casualties from two world wars

Servicemen and women who died in the two world wars but whose names are not on official casualty lists are to be officially recognised thanks to a new project.

The National Army Museum, Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and the Army have teamed up to investigate the cases of those who may be entitled to be commemorated as casualties of the First and Second World Wars, but currently are not.

Each year, the CWGC receives a stream of claims from descendants and others who believe their loved ones’ names should receive official recognition.

They could include people who served and died in action but whose details were not provided by military authorities at the time, or those who died of their injuries away from the battlefield. In some cases, they had been discharged because of their injuries and so were removed from the military system and were buried by their families.

Decisions about who is included have previously been made by the Army, which receives up to 300 cases a year.

But from this month, the National Army Museum is employing two full-time members of staff to investigate each case in a project that is initially due to run until 2016 and is part of the museum’s First World War commemoration activities. It will work with the CWGC and the Army to establish a person’s eligibility for official recognition of their sacrifice.

The museum’s assistant director, David Bownes, said: “Restoring honour to the casualties of the world wars is a deserving enterprise and one that the National Army Museum’s experts are well-equipped to investigate and substantiate.”

The process of making sure officers and soldiers who died as a result of their service in the two world wars is recognised is to be shared across the three organisations.

In an initial step, any enquiries should be made to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by writing to 2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7DX or emailing [email protected].