May 24, 2009 - A Memorial - 2nd Lieut. Frederick Henry Abraham - Part 2

And good evening. My fingers can't tell the difference between a "." and "/". Neighbors on a keyboard and my clumsy hunt-and-peck. Sorry...

I mentioned that I would continue my research thoughts to my granduncle Frederick Henry Abraham. And again thanks to Zoe, Toni and David for providing me with images of family photographs. Our new technology certainly has given this generation the ability to forget about the worry of physical mail systems and lost packages. The picture, to the right we believe is that of granduncle Frederick Henry and grandmother Jeanne Lucie Ernestine Abraham. It would have been taken sometime prior to 1918 and his untimely death.

And now to continue from Part 1...

Through the General Register Office, in England, I was able to find granduncle Frederick Henry's Officer Death Registration. As you can see there really is not much information on the Death Registration on either the front or the back of the Registration as to his burial and final resting place.



The cross had been replaced by a marker, and I have had an image of an old photo of the grave marker for some time. We've also known that granduncle Frederick Henry was buried where he and a number of his comrades fell, at the time of the war. Today that location is in France at the Joncourt East British Cemetery in a field to the east of Joncourt, Aisne. His Grave/Memorial Reference is C.16. But what does this mean?

At a website I found some info regarding the Joncourt East British cemetery with directions and location in Joncourt. Part of the directions read as follows:

"Due to the location of this cemetery, it is necessary to walk for about 5 minutes before it is reached, access is therefore difficult and you should park at the bottom of the track which leads to the cemetery: Casualty Details: UK 71, Total Burials: 71"

And of course, this ties closely to Lt. Col. Smith's letter to great-granduncle Valentin Rénier, found in Part 1. But which grave stone is granduncle Frederick Henry's?

A closer look at the old photo of the grave stone gives me the image that there are no other grave markers behind that of granduncle Frederick Henry's. Any idea?

But you can imagine my surprise when I discovered online a website called Today is Free.com that provides 360 degree panoramic views of War Cemeteries and Memorials. And I found the Joncourt East British Cemetery. Check it out! It's absolutely amazing, and be prepared to be moved.

And which grave marker is granduncle Frederick Henry's? My thoughts - two possibilities:

1. The 3rd grave marker, from the left in the back row, in front of the car as seen at the Today is Free.com site, and
2. The 9th grave marker, from the right in the back row with the small bush of purple flowers on the site.

And your thoughts? I really cannot wait until we see holographic images transferred over the Internet.

Check back for Part 3.

As always,

Jim