Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Graves in Grange Cemetery 

The Grange Cemetery contains 40 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) memorials commemorating men who died in the U.K. and were buried here.  There are also numerous other family memorials in the cemetery remembering men who died during World War 1 and World War 2 and were buried elsewhere in the U.K. or abroad so are officially commemorated in one of the many cemeteries and memorials the CWGC has in its care.  

This list only includes the 40 official CWGC memorials in the Grange Cemetery.  Most of these are family memorials but a few graves are marked either by what is generally regarded as the traditional CWGC upright stone (Jude and Hastie) or by a recumbent stone (e.g. Ogg).  

The War Graves Walk which can be found elsewhere on the Grange Association web pages includes some of these official CWGC graves and a representative selection of other family memorials.  However, a number of family memorials in the Grange Cemetery record servicemen who are not included here or in that walk.  Perhaps one day they too can be researched and added to this website.

The information provided here comprises photographs of the memorial showing it in its location to make it easier to find and a close-up of the inscription; a transcript of the inscription; a summary of the information available on the CWGC website (https://www.cwgc.org/); and a summary of any further information which has been found about each of these men and their families..

If you want to know more about the history and work of the CWGC, its website has a useful section explaining how it was set up and the enormous amount of work carried out, particularly after WW1, to record the names and official information about those who died and are now commemorated in cemeteries all around the world. See  https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/about-our-records/  

The CWGC website also explains the criteria for commemoration by the CGWGC (https://www.cwgc.org/media/0awj5vti/policy-eligibility-criteria-for-commemoration_march21.pdf).  In particular it is worth noting that “active service” covers anyone who was either in full-time service in the armed forces or, if in part-time service in the armed forces, was on active duty when they died.  Importantly it also explains what can be somewhat confusing when it comes to the dates of death and who is, or is not, included.  References to serving in the First World War or Second World War covers service at any time during the official war periods – First World War: 4 August 1914 (the day of declaration of war by Great Britain) to 31 August 1921 inclusive;  Second World War: 3 September 1939 (the day of declaration of war by Great Britain) to 31 December 1947 inclusive.  Thus the end dates are not those when fighting ceased (November 1918 for WW1 and 1945 for WW2) but the dates the war period officially ended.  For WW1, 31 August 1921 is “the official end of war as per the Order in Council that declared the war ended, as required by the Termination of the Present War (Definition) Act”; and for WW2, 31 December 1947 is the date agreed by the participating governments to produce a post-war period roughly equal to that of the First World War.  Several of the men included here died in 1919-21 so are officially commemorated by the CWGC, whereas Leslie Aitchison Browne, for example, who appears in the War Graves Walk and died in 1922 as a result of his war service, is not.

If you have further information about any of the men listed here, please get in touch: cemetery@grangeassociation.com

Sources

Some records have been cited at the end of individual entries but the sources commonly used for family history research have not been listed individually.  These include:

Scotland’s People for births, marriages, deaths, the 1911 census (not available anywhere else), valuation lists, wills and inventories. 

Findmypast and Ancestry both have useful collections of military records as well as births, deaths, marriages, census records, etc. Ancestry’s collection of Wills includes the Calendar of Confirmations for Wills and Inventories for Scotland 1876-1936, which sometimes adds details not available in Scotland’s People’s index of these and also goes up to 1936, whereas the Scotland’s People on-line index ends in 1925.  Only the indexes have normally been checked for Wills and Valuations. 

A surprising number of the graves in the Grange are of air force men, many of whom crashed and were killed during training.  The Genealogist has useful records for the RAF, particularly the Operations Record Books which cover both world wars.

The Forces War Records website (https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/) has a wide range of information, not only on the men who served, but also on their regiments.

Newspapers are available on-line via either the British Newspaper Archive website or Findmypast.  More papers are constantly being added to this collection so it may be worth noting that this research was mostly carried out in October/November 2021.

No fewer than eleven graves in this list commemorate men who were educated at George Watson’s College and six at the Edinburgh Academy.  Both schools have useful websites with information about pupils and staff who died.  For George Watsons see https://www.gwc.org.uk/about-us/heritage/watsons-war-records/ which has information based on two published volumes – A Memorial Record of Watsonians Who Served in the Great War 1914-1918, edited by H.J. Finlay, (1920) and The Watsonian War Record 1939-1945 (1951).  The former volume in particular included far more information about former pupils (and staff) who died in WW1 than most such memorial volumes did.  For the Academy, see: https://edinburghacademy.cook.websds.net/default.aspxwhere you can search not only The Edinburgh Academy Register 1824-1914 (1914) and War Supplement (1921), and the Edinburgh Academy War Service Record 1939-45 but also the School Chronicle from 1893. There is also a published volume relating to WW1: Pro Patria Mori – The Edinburgh Academy at War 1914-18(2015)

Acknowledgments

Photographs – David Watson

Map – David Watson & Roger Kellett

Text – Pat Storey

Map of the Commonwealth War Graves

This map is interactive. You can see the name of the grave by hovering over the number and get further information by either clicking the number or clicking the name in the list below the map.