Pte George Lovell 2 Dorset Regt d.22/7/17

[Will O'Brien]

As per the CWGC

Name: LOVELL

Initials: G

Nationality: United Kingdom

Rank: Private

Regiment: Dorsetshire Regiment

Unit Text: 2nd Bn.

Date of Death: 22/07/1917

Service No: 16726

Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead

Grave/Memorial Reference: VI. E. 6.

Cemetery: BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY

[Will O'Brien]

& the cemetery details

Cemetery: BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY

Country: Iraq

Historical Information: In 1914, Baghdad was the headquarters of the Turkish Army in Mesopotamia. It was the ultimate objective of the Indian Expeditionary Force 'D' and the goal of the force besieged and captured at Kut in 1916. The city finally fell in March 1917, but the position was not fully consolidated until the end of April. Nevertheless, it had by that time become the Expeditionary Force's advanced base, with two stationary hospitals and three casualty clearing stations. The North Gate Cemetery was begun In April 1917 and has been greatly enlarged since the end of the First World War by graves brought in from other burial grounds in Baghdad and northern Iraq, and from battlefields and cemeteries in Anatolia where Commonwealth prisoners of war were buried by the Turks. At present, 4,142 Commonwealth casualties of the First World War are commemorated by name in the cemetery, many of them on special memorials. Unidentified burials from this period number 2,729. The cemetery also contains the grave of Lieutenant General Sir Stanley Maude, Commander-in-Chief of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, who died at Baghdad in November 1917 and the memorial to the 13th Division which he commanded. A memorial to the 6th Battalion Loyal (North Lancashire) Regiment was brought into the cemetery from the banks of the Diyala River in 1947. During the Second World War, Baghdad was again an objective of Commonwealth forces. The 20th Indian Infantry Brigade reached the city from Shaiba by the Euphrates route on 12 June 1941 and the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers, together with the 157th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, arrived on 19 June via the Tigris. An advanced base was established later near the city and remained in use until 1946. Most of the 296 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried in the cemetery died of illness or by accident when serving with PAIFORCE. Again, a number of the graves were brought in from other burial grounds. Within the cemetery is the Baghdad (North Gate) (Khanaqin) Memorial, commemorating 104 Commonwealth and 439 Polish servicemen of the Second World War buried in Khanaqin War Cemetery which, owing to difficulty of access, could not be properly maintained. A memorial has also been erected at Khanaqin. The North Gate Cemetery also contains 127 war graves of other nationalities from both wars, 100 of them Turkish, and 41 non-war graves.

No. of Identified Casualties: 4623

[Will O'Brien]

Given the problems in Iraq at the moment does anyone know of the current state of those cemeteries where British & Commonwealth soldiers rest?

[Terry Denham]

Will

The current state is best described as 'on hold'.

CWGC do take a long term view of such political interruptions. They will wait until the situation has stabilised and then negotiate a deal with whomever regarding renovation of the cemeteries/memorials.

It will not be quick and certainly not be fast enough for our liking but it will be dealt with eventually in some fashion.

Remember, that CWGC's time scale is 'in perpetuity' and the odd decade of disruption here and there is only a blip in the process.

Having said that, it would be nice to see them renovated in the not too distant future as were the cemeteries in Lebanon and Russia.

[Will O'Brien]

Terry

Many thanks for the clarification

Remember, that CWGC's time scale is 'in perpetuity' and the odd decade of disruption here and there is only a blip in the process.

I like the sound of that