Letter to W Perkins from Air Ministry
Title
Letter to W Perkins from Air Ministry
Description
Notifies him that the RAF missing research and enquiry service had located his son's grave in a cemetery at Sulzbach am Main. Notes that he would eventually be re-interred in special war cemeteries looked after perpetually by the Imperial War Graves Commission.
Date
1947-10-06
Temporal Coverage
Spatial Coverage
Language
Format
One page typewritten letter
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Contributor
Identifier
EBentonREPerkinsWP471006
Transcription
AIR MINISTRY,
2, Seville Street,
Knightsbridge,
London, S.W.1.
P.430758/45/S.14 Cas.C.7
6 October, 1947
Dear Mr. Perkins,
I am deeply sorry to renew your grief in the sad loss of your son, Sergeant W. Perkins, but I am sure you will wish to know that the Royal Air Force Missing Research and Enquiry Service has located his grave in the South West Corner of the Cemetery at Sulzbach am Main, 25 miles South East of Frankfurt, where he now rests beside his comrades.
I must explain however, that the policy which has been agreed upon by His Majesty's and the Commonwealth Governments regarding our fallen in Germany, is that they shall not be left to lie in isolated cemeteries but are to be reverently re-interred among their comrades in special British War Cemeteries, which have been selected for the natural beauty and peace of their surroundings. There the graves will be tended in perpetuity by the Imperial War Graves Commission. You will be informed when this takes place and the Commission will write to later on to consult your wishes regarding the inscription on the headstone they will erect to his memory. A photograph will be taken of the grave and sent to you.
I do sincerely hope that this knowledge will be of some slight comfort to you in your great loss.
Yours sincerely,
R.E. Benton.
W. Perkins, Esq.,
Mansfield Lane,
Calverton,
Nottingham.
2, Seville Street,
Knightsbridge,
London, S.W.1.
P.430758/45/S.14 Cas.C.7
6 October, 1947
Dear Mr. Perkins,
I am deeply sorry to renew your grief in the sad loss of your son, Sergeant W. Perkins, but I am sure you will wish to know that the Royal Air Force Missing Research and Enquiry Service has located his grave in the South West Corner of the Cemetery at Sulzbach am Main, 25 miles South East of Frankfurt, where he now rests beside his comrades.
I must explain however, that the policy which has been agreed upon by His Majesty's and the Commonwealth Governments regarding our fallen in Germany, is that they shall not be left to lie in isolated cemeteries but are to be reverently re-interred among their comrades in special British War Cemeteries, which have been selected for the natural beauty and peace of their surroundings. There the graves will be tended in perpetuity by the Imperial War Graves Commission. You will be informed when this takes place and the Commission will write to later on to consult your wishes regarding the inscription on the headstone they will erect to his memory. A photograph will be taken of the grave and sent to you.
I do sincerely hope that this knowledge will be of some slight comfort to you in your great loss.
Yours sincerely,
R.E. Benton.
W. Perkins, Esq.,
Mansfield Lane,
Calverton,
Nottingham.
Collection
Citation
Great Britain. Air Ministry and R E Benton, “Letter to W Perkins from Air Ministry,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed June 16, 2025, https://ibccdigitalarchive.omeka.net/collections/document/31687.