In wet conditions yesterday, local resident David Harrison led a tour of Rosebank Cemetery to look at some of the graves there erected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
There are 273 individuals dating from the First World War remembered here, their deaths occurring between the start of hostilities in 1914 and the formal conclusion on completion of peace treaties after 1918 (the so-called dates of responsibility).
Two of those buried were Canadian, one of them a first-generation citizen whose parents lived in Bonnington at the time of his death.
Another 36 headstones are connected to the Second World War.
All those service personnel buried at Rosebank died in Britain (from wounds sustained elsewhere, through illness or in training accidents). The bodies of those who died in combat abroad were not repatriated until the end of the Falklands War.
A ‘Cross of Sacrifice’ like the one shown below is present at all CWGC sites where there are 40 or more of its distinctive headstones. While the latter bear particular insignia relating to military service (Navy, Army, Air Force), corps/regiment and religious affiliation, the overall design is uniform. The distinctions of social standing and military rank which separated these individuals in life are symbolically erased in comradeship, a shared cause and death.
Harrison is an informed and respectful guide to these sad reminders and, as a former soldier with an interest in military history, is a capable interpreter of shifting battalion structures and theatres of war.
A veil of secrecy surrounded many of these fatalities at the time, notwithstanding which he has often researched or inferred telling details of their particular circumstances. Hearing these stories is a sobering experience.
You can find out more about the Commonwealth War Graves Commission here. Future tours will be publicised in the Spurtle.
