6 Squadron RAF, Ma'Asker & Habbaniya Cemeteries
Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery Grave Sequence / Analysis by Service
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The Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery (formerly the Hinaidi RAF Peace Cemetery) was operational for sixteen years (from December 1921 to December 1937), during the time when control of all British forces in Iraq was based at RAF Hinaidi. Only the western half of the land originally set aside for the cemetery was ever used and this was divided into three plots. Plots 1 and 2 were of equal size, each capable of accommodating four rows of fourteen burials, while Plot 3 occupied the northern half of the cemetery, with fourteen rows each capable of accommodating fourteen graves. As the entrance to the cemetery was set in the centre of the north wall, the first Plot to be used for burials was Plot 3.
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The cemetery diagram attached below should be used in conjunction with the searchable table that provides details of the 300 men and women who were buried at the Ma' Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery. Note that the 225th burial (located in an isolated grave between Plots 1 and 2) was for Sir Gilbert Clayton, British High Commissioner to Iraq at the time of his death in 1929. The grave numbering sequence (1 to 300) is based upon the Date of Death as inscribed on every headstone, since no records have survived for the individual Dates of Burial. In addition to the sequence number, every grave on the chart is coloured to indicate which branch of the British Military is applicable or whether the person buried was an RAF contractor or a civilian. Empty grave sites are simply marked with an 'X'.
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Note: To save confusion, the numbers assigned to each of the three Plots as well as the letters for the rows contained within each Plot and the direction flow (south to north) of the grave numbers (1 to 14) are taken from the official 1964 plan of the Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery (see below).​
By examining the numbering sequence of burials according to the ‘Date of Death’ there appear to be many inconsistencies and anomalies. Some are due to the fact that the actual ‘Date of Burial’ was often days or weeks after the ‘Date of Death’ whereas other inconsistencies, especially in Plot 2 Rows C and D, appear to be random.
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The questions to be answered are:
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What evidence is there that grave locations were left vacant and why did this happen?​
Why was the direction of burials reversed for the first four graves in Plot 3 Row D before being corrected?​
Why did burials in Plot 2 Rows C/D seem random, with 'Dates of Death' 1922 to 1929​
What is the reason for grave sequencing anomalies in Plots 1 and 3?​
Why / when was the numbering system (1 to 14) changed from 'North-to-South' to 'South-to-North'?
What evidence is there that any grave locations were left vacant and why did this happen?
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On the 1965 official CWGC Plan of the Ma’Asker Cemetery (see above) there are five burial locations marked as ‘Vacant Grave Space’. After taking into account the Vacant Grave Spaces in Plot 3 Row G Grave 2 and Plot 2 Row B Grave 1 are respectively the final resting place of AC1 John Maxton Ramsay and the last remaining empty space in Row B (immediately following the 300th and final burial at Ma’Asker on the 19th December 1937), this number becomes three, viz: Plot 1 Row A Grave 13, Plot 1 Row D Grave 3 and Plot 3 Row N Grave 8.
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Plot 1 Row A Grave 13
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I have been unable to find the reason why this burial location remained unused for the operational life of the Ma’Asker Cemetery but have found photographic evidence that this was the case (see below). In the row behind the headstone for AC1 David Oldfield, who died on the 20th August 1930 and was buried in Plot 1 Row B Grave 11, there is a headstone for Sergeant George Garlinge, who died on the 16th June 1929 and was buried in Plot 1 Row A Grave 12. It is evident in the photograph that the grave to the right (or north) of Sergeant Garlinge’s grave remained vacant more than a year after Sergeant Garlinge died.
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Note 1: The 'Date of Death' is used in determining the grave sequence for the purpose of this diagram and only overridden for individual cases where the actual 'Date of Burial' can be verified by photographic evidence or other research. In the great majority of deaths where death occurred in or near Baghdad, the 'Date of Burial' is accurate to within a matter of days of the 'Date of Death'. However, for at least 13 percent of the burials at Ma'Asker (though this figure could be a lot higher if more information is found), death occurred at a distant location, the time taken for the body to reach RAF Hinaidi varying from days to weeks and these will show up as anomalies in the sequencing of burials. In the case of four men who were initially buried at Mosul and whose bodies were later exhumed and transported to RAF Hinaidi, the gap between the two dates was up to two years. In the majority of cases where there was a time interval between 'Date of Death' and 'Date of Burial', rather than allocate the next vacant grave in Plot 3 / Plot 1, the burial would be carried out in one of the vacant graves in Plot 2, Rows C and D. Examples of the places where men died include Kirkuk (170 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Mosul (250 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Samawa (170 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Shaibah (340 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Ramadi (80 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Amarah (250 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Sulaymaniyah (240 miles from RAF Hinaidi), Aqrah in northen Iraq near the Kurdistan border (290 miles from RAF Hinaidi) and the furthest on the eastern edge of Trans Jordan, 340 miles from RAF Hinaidi.
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Note 2: I have never been able to determine the reason why particular grave locations were left vacant for the operational life of the cemetery. Two of the vacant plots can be seen in the Old Burial Photos section of this website and there appears to be nothing visible preventing them from being used (e.g. rocks, problems with access).
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Of the 197 burials for Royal Air Force personnel, 24 were for men serving with an RAF Armoured Car Company or the Armoured Car HQ. For the names and details of these men, click HERE.
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Of the 72 burials for the British Army, 15 were for officers and NCOs who were attached to the RAF Iraq Levies at the time of their death. The second diagram below identifies the grave locations of these men, who were:
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Captain John Carvosso (ex Royal West Kent Regiment) 27/12/1921
Lieutenant Richard Burridge 29/12/1921
Sergeant Major A Wood 18/07/1922
Captain Clement Simpson 12/08/1922
Captain John McWhinnie 05/10/1923
Captain Henry Hammond (ex Dorset Regiment) 23/11/1923
Lieutenant Montague Mott (ex 30 Dragoon Guards) 19/08/1924
Lieutenant John Griffith 04/05/1925
Captain John Coffey 04/06/1925
Lieutenant George Heather (ex Loyal Regiment) 09/07/1925
Lieutenant Sidney Haserick (ex Kings Own Light Infantry) 09/01/1928
Captain Michael Wallace 02/08/1929
Quartermaster Sergeant James Willey 19/04/1930
Sergeant James Sullivan 27/06/1930
Colonel Francis Gossett 18/01/1931​​​​
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