War Graves Journey

Journey to Family War Graves
Genealogy

In 1998 I visited the graves of two of my great-uncles in Northern France. John PAYN and James RIORDAN both died there as soldiers in WW1.

I wrote an article about my visit that was published in "The New Zealand Genealogist" Nov/Dec 2001.
What I wrote is repeated here.

Looking down over Etaples Military Cemetery where James Riordan is buried.

Paying my last respects
The journey to family War Graves in Northern France

I grew up in Waitara, in a house that backed onto the War Memorial Hall with its adjoining cenotaph. As each Anzac Day neared, white crosses and poppies would appear around the small cenotaph. I grew familiar with the way the old soldiers marched wearing their medals, and mesmerised, I watched the younger soldiers who stood in uniform at each corner of the monument, immobile, their guns held firmly in front of them.

I grew up, watching these Anzac Day commemorations, not knowing that on each side of my family, a young man had gone to war in northern France and had not returned.

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It was when I began to explore my family history as an adult that I learned about my two great-uncles who had died in World War 1. James RIORDAN, born in Charing Cross, the fourth son of Patrick Riordan and Mary BURKE, lies buried near the town of Etaples on the French coast. John Francis PAYN, born in Kumara, son of Francis Davis Payn and Johanna SCETTRINI, rests now in a peaceful inland part of rural France near the city of Cambrai.

Finding out about what had happened to James Riordan posed an early puzzle for me in my genealogical research. I found the will for Patrick Riordan, his father, quite quickly, and from that I learned that there was a son called James who had inherited the family farm near Charing Cross in 1911. However, further references to this James seemed elusive.

It was a visit to National Archives in Wellington that first gave me evidence that the James Riordan I sought may have died in World War 1. On a list of World War 1 soldiers, I found James Riordan, farmer, whose next of kin was described as "PJ Riordan (brother), Springdon, Southland." I knew that I had a great-uncle named Patrick Joseph Riordan who farmed at Springston in Canterbury. Further research was clearly warranted.

I also viewed the casualty form for James Riordan while at National Archives. Private Riordan 23436, was part of E Coy, the 13th reinforcement and he had embarked in Wellington on May 29 1916. He arrived in France in August and marched out to division on September 8th. He was wounded in action two weeks later on 22 September 1916 and died of his wounds at 11am, 11 October 1916. The casualty form gave a detailed listing of the position of his grave in the Etaples Military Cemetery. I wrote down all the details, not thinking that one day I would visit this grave.

I decided it was time to send to the Registrar General's Office for James' death entry. Unfortunately, the register entry did not name his parents, but it did list his place of birth as Charing Cross, and this increased the likelihood that he was the James I was seeking.

When I began researching my mother's side of the family, I was put in touch with Maurice Payn in Nelson, who knew much of the oral family history. I quickly learned from him about John Payn who had died in World War 1. Maurice sent me a copy of a card that the family had received that carried a photograph of the grave. He also had a coloured certificate that had been sent to the family to recognise the services of John Payn, "Who gave his Life for his Country".

A search at National Archives for a casualty form for John Payn proved fruitless though, as his form was missing when I looked, so I had no details about his place of burial. The death registration entry from the RGO clearly listed his parent's names, but listed his place of burial only as "France."

John Francis (Frank) PAYN

Go to the next page to learn how I actually visited the graves of my two great-uncles, James Riordan and John Francis (Frank) Payn.