France - Burial Location Look-up please

[Tu2Tu]

Looking for help with a grave look-up in Dunkerque, France please if anyone can point me in the right direction. 

Name:  John McGowan
Died:    21.12.1919
Place:   Dunkerque Harbour, Northern France

Much appreciated

Many thanks

Tu

[forester]

Hello Tu,

Have you got any more information?
Are we definitely looking for a military death?

I can't see anyone on CWGC that matches for 1919.

Phil

[Tu2Tu]

Hi Phil,

Many thanks for the post.

I can confirm that he died on 21.12.1919.
I can confirm that he was a Bos'an on the S.S. Ellington.
I can confirm that his rank was higher that of an Extra Master Mariner.

His family were all Merchant Mariners, so I am presuming he was also a Merchant Mariner.

Whether the Ellington was engaged in WW1 or not I dont know
Some records show the Ellington to have sunk in 1918 - perhaps just damaged.
Where he was burried I dont know.
Whether the Ellington is the Wellington, I dont know.

Does this help?

Tu

[Tu2Tu]

Phil, should add cause of death was drowning.

It has been presumed by family for generations, that he was active in WW1, so I am presuming that yes it is a military death.

Tu

[IMBER]

On the basis of the limited information you have at the moment I wouldn't have thought this could be classified as a military death as it appears he wasn't serving with the armed forces at the date of death and even as a Merchant seaman he would not be commemorated by the CWGC as his death was not due to enemy action.

[Tu2Tu]

Thanks Imber for your informative post,

I had actually posted this thread on the general France board, requesting assistance with a burial look-up, (see first post).  It was then moved to the special interest/armed forces board by roots chat.

Although he was active during WW1, I agree it would appear that his death was not due to enemy action, but I would like to know what happened and where he is burried.

Many thanks

Tu 

[Tu2Tu]

An update on my search for the burial place of John McGowan.

Having sourced John McGowans death record, I find that the vessel on which he was crew at the time of his death was the s.s. ELLOUGHTON and not the s.s. Ellington as reported on the french civil register.  His last known address was listed as Bute Road Cardiff - which is close to the dock area of Cardiff.  The ships official number was 142761.  Iv also found a photograph.  Can anyone enlighten me as to where I can find a ships log for this vessel/trip as it is not available in Newfoundland - in the hope of eventually finding the burial place of his body.

Many thanks
Tu

[km1971]

Was he born in Cardiff? There are several men of that name on the WW1 medal list, but none were born in Cardiff.

The National Archive has no ships logs for this vessel. It has crew lists but only from 1928. If 'Newfoundland' does not have what you want then you should assume it no longer exists. Was 'Dunkirk harbour' the place of death or where his death was recorded? It may help to look in the local newspapers for Cardiff as his death is likely to have been reported on.

If his body was recovered he is likely to be buried in Dunkirk. If he was non Catholic there cannot be many churches to choose from. If RC it is likely to be the one nearest to the docks.

Ken

[GrahamSimons]

This page on the NMM site tells you how to find ships' logs.
http://www.rmg.co.uk/researchers/library/research-guides/the-merchant-navy/tracing-people-crewlists-agreements-logs

For Dunkirk you might find a post on the relevant forum (check the Département) might gain you some help; from experience there it's best to post in French. See www.genealogie.com