EXTREMELY RARE VOLUMES LISTING THE RESTING PLACE OF EVERY SERVICEMAN WHO DIED IN WORLD WAR ONE TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER IN NORFOLK
A historic set of 64 volumes listing the final resting place of every single British and Colonial serviceman who died in the First World War is set to go under the hammer in Norfolk – one of only two copies of the document in existence.
The Imperial War Grave Commission index lists the location of the graves of British, Australian, Canadian and South African soldier and sailor were killed in the conflict, or the memorial on which they are commemorated if they have no grave.
Known as the ‘Imperial War Graves Commission Index To Cemetery And Memorial Registers Of Those Who Fell In The Great War, Forces Of the United Kingdom And The Colonies’, the historic documents are set to be sold by Keys Auctioneers in Aylsham as part of its Militaria and Medals Sale on Wednesday 13th March, and are expected to fetch up to £4,000.
The volumes list around one million names, along with their regimental or official number. They were originally owned by the Imperial War Museum, which sold them in 2016 following a programme to digitise the records. The only other existing copy is owned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
“This is a breathtaking and very rare historical document, listing the resting place of every single soldier and sailor who gave their lives for their country during the First World War,” said Oscar Crocker, militaria expert at Keys.
“It is sobering to see listed on every single page the names of 30 fallen servicemen, a total of around one million in total. Each of them had an individual story to tell, and each death was a tragedy for their family and loved ones.”
The volumes are being sold by a private collector who bought them at the 2016 auction, and Keys expect them to be bought by either a museum or another private collector.
The Keys Militaria and Medals Sale takes place on Wednesday 13th March at its salerooms in Aylsham, and live online. More details can be found at www.keysauctions.co.uk.