WW2 Soldiers Deaths Info
 

Gentleman,
Can anyone help with this one please?
I have been placing all my regimental WW2 war dead into battalions in order to check the variations in regimental and official figures - bit of a minefield.
Anyway, using the superb CWGC website has been a great help. But...I couldn't help but notice that some of those commemorated with CWGC website are listed merely as Leicestershire Regiment, with no battalion. Further work reveals these men all died whilst in the U.K. between the wartime dates. I guessed. just guessed, that these men were battlefield casualties who had died at home. Frustrated at not being able to put these men into their battalions, I chose ten at random and sent off for their GRO death certificates. A £100+ exercise.
Well, they all came back with 1940's illnesses like pneumonia, TB, lung & heart disease, etc, but they all have civilian occupations at the time of death and no mention of previous military service! Perplexed!!!
My latest theory is that they enlisted, served, and were subsequently discharged with these incurable conditions back into civilian life.
So, if that's true it might explain the listing of a Regiment that they had served with, but at the time of death they were not with any battalion and that's why none is listed? Does that make sense?
With that in mind, why are they commemorated by the CWGC and why do they have military regimental headstones? I'm guessing that the rule might have been that if you served in WW2 and were discharged back into civvie street and then died, that you were still entitled to this honour. Doesn't help me identify their battalion but it's interesting?
Has anyone else got any concrete info or views on this please?
Many thanks,
Amy

CWGC Eligibility Criteria for Commemoration :

We commemorate people who served in the Commonwealth armed forces during the First or Second World War, whose death:

 occurred during the official war period; and
 was the result of:
 wounds inflicted or accident occurring during active service;
 disease contracted or commencing while on active service; or
 disease aggravated by active service.

In practice, this means that:

 serving military personnel are commemorated irrespective of the cause or circumstances of
their death; and
 military personnel who died post-discharge are commemorated if it is established that they meet the above criteria.


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Mike,
That's an awesome reply - "Thank You".
How I'm going to identify the respective battalions these men served with will be very difficult but I will keep digging.
Thanks again Mike.
Amy