Hi
A serious question (for once)
I’ve been reading quite a lot recently on the British (well Indian really) invasion of Mesopotamia in the Great War.
Sadly, to many in Britain this is now almost completely forgotten. Certainly at the time it was considered a side-show–unless of course you were in it..!!
The battles obviously were not as vast as those on the western front but certainly were as deadly, to which could be added disease, heat and thirst.
British and Indian casualties were comparatively high.
As ever, despite generals, politicians and what we now call the media disparaging the Ottoman army, they fought well and caused British generalship much in the way of problems.
My questions are as follows:-
How are the CWGC cemeteries fairing under the new regime in Iraq..? I believe when Sadam Hussein was in charge, they were actually tended–although one might have been moved..?
Also, bearing in mind the circumstances of that country, do these sites ever get any visitors, and will things improve sufficiently in future to make battlefield tourism there a viable bet??
In fact is tourism happening there at all at the moment? The country is an absolute goldmine of ancient sites–although I don’t know if they’ve been pillaged or not.
My guess is that safe travel there may be some years away.
I also have an individual question to Kev35.
Are any of the men you are researching on your local war memorial, casualties of the Mesopotamian campaign, and could you share the details please..?
Regards
Andy
By: Andy in Beds - 6th December 2012 at 08:46
Richard.
Thanks for that.
It seems that it may be some time before any of us can safely visit.
Even a long time before the CWWG can begin maintenance, and repair.
We can live in hope I suppose.
A.
By: Richard gray - 6th December 2012 at 01:03
This is what the offical site of CWGC says about Basra.
Until 1997 the Basra Memorial was located on the main quay of the naval dockyard at Maqil, on the west bank of the Shatt-al-Arab, about 8 kilometres north of Basra.
Because of the sensitivity of the site, the Memorial was moved by presidential decree. The move, carried out by the authorities in Iraq, involved a considerable amount of manpower, transport costs and sheer engineering on their part, and the Memorial has been re-erected in its entirety.
The Basra Memorial is now located 32 kilometres along the road to Nasiriyah, in the middle of what was a major battleground during the first Gulf War.
NOTE: Whilst the current climate of political instability persists it is not possible for the Commission to manage or maintain its cemeteries and memorials located within Iraq. Alternative arrangements for commemoration have therefore been implemented and a two volume Roll of Honour listing all casualties buried and commemorated in Iraq has been produced. These volumes are on display at the Commission’s Head Office in Maidenhead and are available for the public to view.
The Commission continues to monitor the situation in Iraq and once the political climate has improved to an acceptable level the Commission will commence a major rehabilitation project for its cemeteries and commemorations.
Before considering a visit to Iraq the Commission strongly recommends that you check the advice given by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on the travel section of their website
Historical Information
The Basra Memorial commemorates more than 40,500 members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the operations in Mesopotamia from the Autumn of 1914 to the end of August 1921 and whose graves are not known.
Go here type in Iraq and it lists them all.
http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery.aspx
By: Andy Wright - 4th December 2012 at 21:19
Hi Andy
I can’t help much at all, I’m afraid, but in reference to the condition of cemeteries in Iraq I can comment on photos I saw about four years ago. Obviously, things were a bit hotter then. I can’t remember the cemetery featured in the photos (I will have to dig out an old email). The photos showed headstones, some broken off at the base, on a flat area of dirt (no grass, plants etc you expect to see at a CWGC site). The men in the photo were Australians (uniforms) and I recall one of the photos being of them lifting one of the fallen headstones to show the name. This was then replaced where they’d found it with the intention being to leave things as they were until it was safer to return and repair the place properly.
Send me an email and I’ll try to dig out the email or, at least, put you in touch with the person who sent them to me and who should know more of what the situation is there.
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December 4, 2012 at 8:07 am