Blog

Ask the Expert – military Malta mystery

Our resident military expert Paul Nixon, pictured below, answers your queries.

From M Marshall in Barnet, Hertfordshire:

‘A relative called John Telford Graham (born 1890/91) came from Newcastle upon Tyne and served in the First World War. He belonged to The Army Medical Corps (Territorial Force) and died on 15 July 1917 in Malta. His army number was 386384 and his rank was Private.

What was the cause of John’s death? Where was he buried in Malta? Why was his unit serving in Malta? I would be most grateful if you could answer these questions.’

Paul says:

‘Soldiers Died in The Great War notes simply ‘died’ which probably means that he died as a result of sickness or accident; probably the former, as Pieta Military Cemetery dealt with the sick and wounded from Gallipoli and Salonika. The Commonwealth war Graves Commission gives the following information:

Name: GRAHAM, JOHN TELFORD
Initials: J T
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Royal Army Medical Corps
Unit Text: 2nd/1st Northumbrian Field Amb
Age: 26
Date of Death: 15/07/1917
Service No: 386384
Additional information: Son of John Sewell Graham and Margaret Ann Graham, of “Holmside,” Armstrong Rd., Benwell, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: C. XIV. 5.
Cemetery: PIETA MILITARY CEMETERY

The 2/1st Northumbrian FA was initially part of the 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division and you can read more about this Division on The Long, Long Trail website. From the information contained here, the unit had moved to Salonika as Army Troops in September 1916.’

If you’d like to send your question to our experts, please register or opt to receive newsletters in My Account. Unfortunately our experts only have time to answer a few queries each month. If yours wasn’t answered this time, you could be lucky next month!

Ask the expert – lost in World War One

Our expert Stephen Rigden answers your questions:

‘My great uncle Tommy Venables was a private in the Cheshire regiment in the First World War. It was stated that he was ‘killed at home’ in November 1916, but no explanation is given, although we believe he drowned. Where can we go to clarify what happened?’ Irene Hartless

Steve says: “Soldiers Died in the Great War shows that Private Thomas Venables died at “Home”. Where the theatre of war is given as “Home”, this usually means that the soldier died either while serving within the UK (for example, in a reserve battalion or in a home service garrison), or else died back in UK of wounds sustained overseas without having been discharged from the army.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website shows that he was buried in Toxteth Park Cemetery. If you have not already visited the memorial there, it is worth doing so in case a headstone gives more detail: however, it has to be said that this is unlikely unless the family met the cost (CWGC headstones are purposely standardised in design). The simplest way to find out the cause of death for a “Home” theatre of war casualty is to purchase a copy of the death certificate using the usual General Register Office (GRO) civil death indexes. Private Venables’ death appears to have been registered in the West Derby district in the March quarter of 1917. This delay (when registration would have been expected in the December quarter of 1916) may indicate that there was an inquest, which would be consistent with accidental death, such as drowning, which would require a coroner’s report. You can buy a copy of the death certificate for £7 online from the GRO’s website http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates or, if you live in Merseyside, you could visit in person the register office, which is located in Liverpool’s Cotton Exchange. The certificate may point you to a coroner’s report (if there was one: try Merseyside Record Office) and that, together with local newspapers, may fill in the background.”

We hope you find this useful to your research. Invitations to Ask the Expert appear in our newsletter, register to take part or select to receive newsletters in My Account.