6 Squadron RAF, Ma'Asker & Habbaniya Cemeteries
Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery Burial Sequence / Analysis by Service
Comments on Burial Sequencing Methodology and Anomalies
The Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery (formerly the Hinaidi RAF Peace Cemetery) was operational from Dec 1921 to Dec 1937, when control of all British forces in Iraq was at RAF Hinaidi. Only the western half of the land set aside for the cemetery was ever used and this was divided into three plots. Plots 1 and 2 were of equal size, each with four rows of fourteen graves, whilst Plot 3 occupied the northern half of the cemetery, with fourteen rows of fourteen graves. With the entrance to the cemetery in the centre of the north wall, the first Plot used for burials was Plot 3, followed by Plot 1 (first burial in April 1929) and finally Plot 2 (except for Plot 2, Rows C and D).​​​​​​​​​​​​
The CWGC has always referenced each of the 300 graves at Ma’Asker according to its Plot Identifier (1, 2 or 3), Row Identifier (A to N) and Grave No (1 to 14), as specified in the official Commonwealth War Graves 1964/5 plan of the Ma'Asker Al Raschid Cemetery (see below). ​​​​​​​​​However, the original flow of grave numbers (North-South) was changed at some point between 1937 and 1964 to South-North. the reason for this has yet to be determined.​​​
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The cemetery diagram below shows the approximate burial sequence of the 300 men and women who were buried at the Ma'Asker 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 is based upon the Date of Death as inscribed on every headstone, since no records have survived at the CWGC for the individual Dates of Burial. Every grave on the chart is coloured to indicate either the applicable branch of the British Military or whether the burial was for an RAF contractor or civilian. Empty grave sites are marked with an 'X'.​
By examining the numbering sequence according to the Date of Death on the Burial Sequence diagram there appear to be many anomalies. Some of the minor differences would most likely be due to the fact that the Date of Burial was days or weeks after the Date of Death, (depending upon where the death took place) whereas other inconsistencies, especially in Plot 2 Rows C and D, appeared to be random.
The questions I’ve addressed in this paper are:
1 Is there proof that grave locations were left vacant and if so, why did this happen?
2 Why were burials reversed for the first four graves in Plot 3 Row D?
3 Why did burials in Plot 2 Rows C and D seem random, with 'Dates of Death' ranging from 1922 to 1929
4 What is the reason for apparent grave sequencing anomalies in Plots 1 and 3?
5 When was the grave numbering system (1 to 14) changed from 'North-South' to 'South-North'?
1 Is there proof that grave locations were left vacant and if so, 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 vacant for the life of the Ma’Asker Cemetery but have found photographic evidence that this probably was the case (see photo 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 was still vacant more than a year after Sergeant Garlinge died, so it is likely that it has remained vacant ever since.
Plot 1 Row D Grave 3
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I have been unable to find the reason why this burial location remained vacant for the life of the Ma’Asker Cemetery but have found photographic evidence that this was probably the case (see photo below). LAC Robert Raw died on the 2nd June 1935 and was buried in Plot 2 Row A Grave 3. As his death was more than one year after the Vacant Grave Space was left in Plot 1 Row D Grave 3, shown empty immediately behind LAC Raw’s headstone in the photograph, it is likely it has remained vacant ever since.
Plot 3 Row N Grave 8
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I have been unable to find photographic evidence nor the reason why this burial location might have been left vacant for the life of the Ma’Asker Cemetery. The graves on either side of Plot 3 Row N Grave 8 were only eighteen days apart, at least according to the ‘Date of Death’, so that does not give us any clues. Perhaps there was a rock beneath that particular location. We will never know unless new photographic evideince comes to light.
2 Why were burials reversed for the first four graves in Plot 3 Row D?
In researching the deaths for Sequence Nos 51 and 52 (see photo below) I noticed that the two men died on the same day in the crash of a Vickers Vernon. Further research revealed that the aircraft crashed whilst taking off from Kirkuk, some 170 miles north of Baghdad, before bursting into flames. The bodies of AC1 Albert Milne and Flt Lt Robert Holme arrived at RAF Hinaidi at the same time. They would have been buried side by side except for the fact that the first vacant grave site was Plot 3 Row C Grave 1 (the southern end of the Row C). Rather than bury Flt Lt Holme at the northern end of Row D in Grave No 14 in a separate ceremony, it was decided to bury him in Row D Grave No 1, less than three yards away from the grave of AC1 Milne.
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At this point the normal burial sequence could have been resumed, except for the fact that a third man, Flt Lt Alfred Messenger, who happened to be the pilot of that same Vickers Vernon, was also injured in the crash. He sadly succumbed to his injuries twelve days later and his body transported back to RAF Hinaidi, but not before another man had been buried in the cemetery, next to the grave of Flt Lt Holme. Consequently, Flt Messenger was buried in Row D Grave 3. For some reason, another burial took place out of sequence before the normal ‘status quo’ was restored and the next burial was made in Row D No 14.
3 Why did burials in Plot 2 Rows C and D seem random, with 'Dates of Death' ranging from 1922 to 1929
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Even a cursory glance at the burial sequencing chart on Page 2 will reveal a significant difference in the way burial spaces were utilised in the last two rows of Plot 2 (Rows C and D) compared to the rest of the Ma’Asker cemetery, as the ‘Dates of Death’ for the 23 men buried in these rows result in a seemingly random sequence. For example, the earliest Date of Death is February 1922 (Row D Grave 2) and the latest in September 1929 (Row D Grave 3), an interval of 7 ½ years, yet the men are buried side by side.
However, an analysis of the circumstances behind the 23 deaths tells a different story. Though I could find no details for 4 of the burials, all but 2[see Note below] of the remaining 19 deaths took place at distant locations, with 13 at Mosul, 2 at Sulaimaniya, 1 at Kirkuk and 1 in the Trans-Jordan region. To add administrative complication to what was intended to be a cemetery where burials were carried out in chronological order, several of the men who died at Mosul were initially buried at the Mosul cemetery and later their bodies were exhumed, transported the 260 miles to RAF Hinaidi and reinterred at Ma’Asker. To give one example, below is a photograph showing the graves of 3 RAF personnel, Sgt Pilot Charles Dicks, AC2 Edward Barber and Flying Officer Rupert Pontifex. The bodies of the three men were initially buried side by side at Mosul but reinterred some months later at Ma’Asker at different dates, with their new graves separated as a result. In summary, I would suggest that Rows C and D of Plot 2 at Ma’Asker were reserved for burials that were out of the ordinary in terms of chronology.
NOTE: There are plausible reasons as to why the two men who apparently died at RAF Hinaidi ended up being buried in Plot 2, one in Row C and the other in Row D. The first man fell into the Tigris and was washed away, with no information recorded as to when or where his body was recovered, so the time delay could have been significant. The second man died just 3 days before the death of Sir Gilbert Clayton and a burial so close in time to Sir Gilbert’s grave/memorial service would have interfered with the ceremonial event for the latter.
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4 What is the reason for apparent grave sequencing anomalies in Plots 1 and 3?
If you disregard the 23 graves in Plot 2 Rows C and D (see above 3 Why did burials in Plot 2 Rows C and D seem random . . . . ) there are 277 other graves at Ma’Asker that need to be examined. In looking at the grave sequencing for Plots 1, Plot 2 (Rows A and B) and Plot 3, there are approximately 13 sequencing anomalies. This number is surprisingly low when you consider the fact that many of the deaths did not take place in and around Baghdad. In carrying out further research, I was able to identify 38 instances where the place of death was a significant distance from Baghdad and would naturally result in a burial date much later than the 'Date of Death', used by myself for the purposes of the sequencing diagram as that was the only date available to me.
Shown below is a map of Iraq highlighting the areas where men who were buried at Ma’Asker actually died. Transportation of bodies was often fraught with danger and delays, so it is hardly surprising that burials would appear to be out of sequence when the only information we have today is the ‘Date of Death’.
In summary, I would suggest that if we were ever able to find archival material that provided the actual dates for every burial at Ma’Asker, the only anomalies would be in Plot 2 Rows C and D.
5 When was the grave numbering system (1 to 14) changed from 'North-South' to 'South-North'?
It can see seen in many photographs of the completed Ma’Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery that the grave numbering system for each Row was originally ‘1’ to ‘14’ from North to South, yet in the official CWGC Plan of the cemetery released in 1964 and updated in 1965, the grave numbering system is clearly shown as being ‘1’ to ‘14’ South to North (refer to diagram above).
After raising the issue with the CWGC, sadly there apparently remains no documentation in the CWGC archives that explains why the change was made and when that change took place. Fortunately, this does not have any impact on who was buried and when, as only the most recent grave numbering system is used currently – by myself and the CWGC. Shown below is a photograph of the Ma’Asker cemetery that shows graves with the original grave number marker.
