Mark Hone Posted 8 April , 2003 Share Posted 8 April , 2003 I was pretty surprised to see that the front-page story in today's (8th April) Manchester Evening News was about an ex-soldier from Bury who has asked the CWGC to repatriate his great-uncle's remains in the wake of the Etaples graffiti incident. The great-uncle, who was killed in 1918, is not actually buried in Etaples but at St Sever in Rouen. In the article a Commission spokesman spells out the standard policy on repatriation but there is confusion elsewhere in the article. The ex-soldier claims that the CWGC initially agreed to return the body with full military honours and the article indicates that his request has the support of the Royal British Legion. (The president of Salford British Legion does give qualified support in a quote at the end of the article but I'm not sure that amounts to official RBL policy!) The MEN has also made the topic the subject of its 'You Decide' phone poll for the day. The blurb there gives a somewhat more accurate version of the objections to repatriation than the article itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hartley Posted 8 April , 2003 Share Posted 8 April , 2003 If it's an MEN "You Decide", then the result is pretty much pre-determined. The polls in the paper consistently bring out the right-wing xenophobes in the community. But then , the paper's editorial stance is rarely designed to encourage tolerance. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 8 April , 2003 Share Posted 8 April , 2003 It would be useful if the CWGC could make a statement to finish all this nonsense once and for all. How dare some Francophobe attempt to score political points with the remains of an ancestor who has rested in peace in France for most of the 20th century. He is equivalent in my estimation to the morons who daubed Etaples. I have similar feelings for German and French schools who have cancelled exchange trips with my daughter's school in protest at the Iraq War. Ironic given the fact that students at my daughter's school held a spontaneous anti-war protest . Surely children should be free to exchange views without adult interference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 8 April , 2003 Share Posted 8 April , 2003 I despair at the fact that in the MEN internet poll on the issue , 75% support relatives being allowed to repatriate their Dead. What price a YES vote on the Euro , given Joe Public's current view of the French and Germans ? "I mean those Froggies , they eat snails and horses and them Germans keep starting wars . Hitler was one of them , you know . Yeah, bring our blokes back." Give me strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Burgoyne Posted 8 April , 2003 Share Posted 8 April , 2003 I totally agree with ianw, that the CWGC sould make a statement, to make it clear that no Great War/Second War Soldier will be brought back. Paul Reed (I think it was Paul) made a good point in one of his posts related to a simular topic, in that many of the graves contain more than one person and many contain very little remains at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roy Evans Posted 9 April , 2003 Share Posted 9 April , 2003 I despair at the fact that in the MEN internet poll on the issue , 75% support relatives being allowed to repatriate their Dead. Given the tone of the article in the MEN, hardly a considered, balanced article on which to make an informed decision, it is not surprising that the vote was this high. I'm always intrigued as to the type of people who respond to these polls anyway, although defend their right to do so. For the MEN, it was I suppose a good ‘Human interest’ story, but the vote should surely not be taken seriously. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted 9 April , 2003 Share Posted 9 April , 2003 The CWGC policy on repatriation is clear, unequivocal and has been maintained since the 20s: no repatriation. I find it hard to believe that anyone in the CWGC has agreed to the return of a WW1 body with full military honours. If they have they will shortly become acquainted with their P45 and the wherabouts of the local job centre. Apart from anything else the economic implications are enormous. Repatriation is not cheap; indeed the economics of returning bodies home was the main reason for not doing so in the first place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 9 April , 2003 Share Posted 9 April , 2003 What we have here is a 'knee-jerk' reaction to what was itself an appalling act. My only surprise is that it took this long for a local newspaper to print such a story. With regard to the souring of Anglo-French relationships and the effect on us signing up to the European single currency, there are many other factors which, dare I say, to such a partisan crowd, weigh more heavily. One is the European Bank and its mechanisms, another is the CAP and the perceived/actual abuse by our French partner. Another is Group expansion particularly in light of the fledgling members support for the US/UK stance on Iraq. Unfortunately, however close to our hearts this issue might be, it rather sits on the sidelines when you look at the big picture. At the end of the day, as has already been stated, the CWGC has a NO repatriation policy. Unless this changes and given the final implications it is doubtful. Case closed! As always today's newspapers are tomorrows fish & chip wrappers! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 9 April , 2003 Share Posted 9 April , 2003 The story that CWGC had agreed to repatriation with honours is obviously the figment of someone's imagination. Apart from the 'no repatriation' policy, can anyone believe that the CWGC, the MoD and the Treasury would reverse decades of policy within a week or so! I think not. Even if they were minded to change the policy (unthinkable) it would take months - if not years. Just a headline grabbing nonsense to sell newspapers. The trouble is someone buys them and believes it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 9 April , 2003 Share Posted 9 April , 2003 It seems to me that in demanding the opportunity to repatriate a body, the present day descendants are seeking to be given greater rights than were allowed to the contemporary family who knew, cared for, loved, mourned and remembered the person as a living individual. Unless a family member is now in her/his nineties, there can be no convincing claim to be bringing home someone with whom there are personal connections. I presume the family of the soldier under discussion is offering to repatriate his remains at their own expense, of course? Hm. Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Denham Posted 9 April , 2003 Share Posted 9 April , 2003 I have spoken to CWGC this morning about this story and they are fully aware of it. They are currently drafting a statement to restate their policy which they have no intention of changing. However, I quote one line from their email reply to me - "we at no time said this was a possibility and stated such to the newspaper" Nuff said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Hone Posted 9 April , 2003 Author Share Posted 9 April , 2003 Forum users may be interested to learn that the callers to the MEN 'Debate' voted 61/39% in favour of this bloke being allowed to repatriate the reamins of his great-uncle. There was no follow up story in tonight's paper nor any letters on the topic. (I e-mailed them one myself but looking at tonight's 'Postbag' they seem to lag a few days behind so my name may yet be immortalized in print). I hope that they do make some attempt to correct the utterly misleading impression they gave of CWGC and RBL policy on this matter. I must admit that I am not exactly a regular reader of the MEN (I've bought it probably half a dozen times in the 12 1/2 years I've lived in the Northwest!) so if anyone does spot some response in the next few days I'd be interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now