240 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
240 lines
6.8 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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uknews
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1463243
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-----
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# Virtual immortality for Britain's war dead
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12:01AM BST 31 May 2004
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**'Basher' Bates, VC, takes his place with war poets Owen and Brooke in a new
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computer archive that will be available to the public. Nicole Martin reports**
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The individual stories and records of Britain's war dead are to be preserved
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in a new computer archive.
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It will contain personal records of some of the most illustrious names in
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English literature, including the war poets Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke,
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and recount the battlefield heroism of ordinary soldiers.
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Among the most poignant documents are those relating to Pte Jack Banks who, at
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16, is believed to have been one of the youngest soldiers to die in battle.
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He was posted with the 8th Bn Durham Light Infantry, after defying the wishes
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of his parents and lying about his age, and was killed in Normandy in July
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1944 when he was hit by mortar shells.
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The original verification document handwritten by his parents, Fanny and Jack,
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shows that they chose the following inscription for his headstone: "God will
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tell us why, some day, he broke our hearts and took you away."
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As well as official information such as records of burials and cemeteries, the
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archive will contain moving letters written by the families of the 1.7 million
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Commonwealth soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars.
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The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which holds the documents, has awarded
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the Stationery Office a £1.6 million contract to create the archive, which it
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hopes will be completed in five years.
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It launched the initiative amid fears that the records - some of which date
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back more than 80 years and are handwritten on delicate rice paper - are
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extremely fragile and susceptible to fading.
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Among the other soldiers commemorated in the archive is Cpl Sidney "Basher"
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Bates, who was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for his selfless
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actions in August 1944 near Sourdeval, France.
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When the Germans attacked a battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, he seized
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a light-machinegun and charged forward, moving through a hail of bullets.
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Although wounded twice, he was undaunted and continued firing until the enemy
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started to withdraw.
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Hit for a third time, he fell, but continued firing until his strength failed
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him. He died two days later.
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The inscription on his headstone in the Bayeux war cemetery in north-west
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France reads: "His parents proudly remember him as a true Camberwell boy and a
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loving son."
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Documents for Lt Owen, which date from 1918 when he was killed while leading
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his men across the Sambre-Oise canal a week before the war ended, give details
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of his burial site in Ors communal cemetery in northern France.
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The inscription on his headstone, taken from his poem The End, reads: "Shall
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life renew these bodies? Of a truth all death will he annul."
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Records relating to Sub-Lt Brooke, who died on a hospital ship two days before
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the Gallipoli landings in 1915, show he was laid to rest in an isolated olive
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grove on the Greek island of Skyros.
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A handwritten document dated Nov 2, 1920, reads: "This island has only one
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British grave in it, that of Lt Rupert Brooke, Howe [sic] Bn RND, who died
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April 23rd 1915.
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"It is situated in an olive grove and is marked by two crosses and I
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understand that Mrs Brooke has sent, or is sending, a permanent memorial to be
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erected on this grave."
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David Parker, the commission's director for information, said: "It is our duty
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to make sure that these valuable and historically significant documents are
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available to future generations and saved for posterity.
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"The electronic archive will reduce the risk of the papers being damaged
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through daily handling and enable our researchers to obtain instant access to
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the information." Tim Hailstone, the chief executive of the Stationery Office,
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said: "It seems appropriate that this project is starting as we remember the
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many thousands of casualties on D-Day 60 years ago.
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"We shall ensure that these irreplaceable documents are handled for the
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commission with the greatest care."
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[Tweet][5]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1463243/Virtual-immortality-for-
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Britains-war-dead.html
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Telegraph
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## [UK News][6]
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* ### [News »][7]
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[In UK News »][6]
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[![US President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain: day two in pictures][8]
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][9]
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### [Obamas visit Britain: day two][9]
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[![US President Barack Obama's state visit to Britain: security and
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protests][10] ][11]
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### [Obama: security and protests][11]
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[![Queen Elizabeth II and US President Barack Obama during a State Banquet in
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Buckingham Palace,][12] ][13]
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### [Obamas visit Britain: day one][13]
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External Links
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* ### [Commonwealth War Graves Commission][14]
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[X][1] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][2]
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Share:
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* [ ][1]
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* [Tweet][5]
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* Advertisement
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![][15]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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on the black American experience.
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