Why do this?

To be honest, it comes (as much) from a "why not" perspective as seeking to answer a specific question.

Some time ago I took an extract of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database for some analysis I wanted to do.  In doing so I realised I had the means to show the information in a different dimension.  It can take some time to do a custom enquiry at the CWGC site, and get all the data together (as the lists come out in separate pages), so to get a sense of the casualties lists can be difficult, and not something I could find elsewhere.  So I resolved to do that.

As an emminent FWW historian with whom I discussed the project on twitter pointed out, there is limited context to the information.  But I think the following points may help:

• at the top of each post is a link to a "what happened on this day" blog post from another site (not something with which I am involved)
• as the casualties are listed in country and then cemetery order, there is a some context provided by this information alone, you can discern where a big action was taking place if there is a long list at 1 or 2 cemeteries in one country
• if you subscribe to the daily posts, I hope it will give you a sense of what was happened, and pique your interest occasionally.
• I hope that other sites around the web might find this a useful resource for context for their data
• I do hope if people discover the site whist searching for a relative (the post lists the serial number, rank, name, regiment, and location) they will find it the means to start a more meaningful search for their relative.

Why start on the 21st?  Well, partly because I only thought of the idea a few weeks ago.  So I missed the boat as it were!  However, John Parr who died near Mons and is buried at St Symphorien Cemetery is generally acknowledged as the first Commonwealth death in action of the First World War.  So I decided to start on that day.  The blog will issue a new post every day to the end of 2018 (I am scheduling in advance, so I hope not to miss a day - my apologies in advance if I do!).  Ending with a post for 1919 and beyond.

Finally, please remember, that this blog is based on the CWGC database as it was on 11th August 2014 - you may find variations as the CWGC constantly update their records as information comes in (indeed I am proud to say I found some data on a relative that caused them to update his record).

The data is presented as is (or was on 11/8/2014) and I cannot guarantee it to be error free (although i very much intend it to be).  So if you wish to rely on something, please cross check other sources (most obviously Find War Dead and Find A Cemetery at the CWGC to get the latest information.

Thanks for reading, and I hope the blog is helpful.

Peter

*Updated 04/10/2014: Note that as i have now been able to back fill the posts to the very start (4/8/1914) I have now moved this post to the 3rd to leave the data posts in a sequence of their own.
This was originally posted on the 19th August 2014 to start the blog.

*Updated 11/11/2017 as the CWGC changed their pages for searching for the people or cemeteries