Browsing by Author "Harrison, K"

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    First World War Grave Concentration on the Western Front: Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium
    (2021-04) Martin, Victoria; Shortland, A.; Harrison, K; Braekmans, D
    The First World War took place between 1914 and 1918, with conflict occurring in Europe and across the globe. By the end of the War, the bodies of the British and Commonwealth dead were scattered across France and Belgium. It was decided to move single graves or small cemeteries into bigger cemeteries that were being built by the Imperial War Graves Commission. This process was called “concentration”, and involved searching the battlefields for graves, then excavating and attempting to identify the bodies present, prior to their reburial in a concentration cemetery. This thesis focuses on the concentration process and specifically examines a sample of graves from Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium. The main research aim is to understand the range of errors that occurred during concentration and identification, and how prolific they were. A historical and literature review was completed, followed by the analysis of data from 109 graves from Hooge Crater Cemetery that were re-exhumed in 1920. This proved that within the sample, a high number of errors occurred in the original concentration work. Following this, 163 burial returns containing the details of 1013 graves from Hooge Crater Cemetery were selected for detailed analysis. The information from these burial returns was gathered and reviewed, and where possible was plotted onto First World War trench maps. This data provides new insights into where and when bodies were concentrated, the type of methods used for identification and how these methods changed over time. The research presented here demonstrates that identification rates varied, and were influenced by several factors including burial location, quantity of body present, time of concentration and primary identification method used. Overall, this thesis expands our knowledge of First World War grave concentration, including how the battlefields were searched and how bodes were identified.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    First World War Grave Concentration on the Western Front: Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium
    (2021-04) Martin, V; Shortland, A; Harrison, K; Braekmans, D
    The First World War took place between 1914 and 1918, with conflict occurring in Europe and across the globe. By the end of the War, the bodies of the British and Commonwealth dead were scattered across France and Belgium. It was decided to move single graves or small cemeteries into bigger cemeteries that were being built by the Imperial War Graves Commission. This process was called “concentration”, and involved searching the battlefields for graves, then excavating and attempting to identify the bodies present, prior to their reburial in a concentration cemetery. This thesis focuses on the concentration process and specifically examines a sample of graves from Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium. The main research aim is to understand the range of errors that occurred during concentration and identification, and how prolific they were. A historical and literature review was completed, followed by the analysis of data from 109 graves from Hooge Crater Cemetery that were re-exhumed in 1920. This proved that within the sample, a high number of errors occurred in the original concentration work. Following this, 163 burial returns containing the details of 1013 graves from Hooge Crater Cemetery were selected for detailed analysis. The information from these burial returns was gathered and reviewed, and where possible was plotted onto First World War trench maps. This data provides new insights into where and when bodies were concentrated, the type of methods used for identification and how these methods changed over time. The research presented here demonstrates that identification rates varied, and were influenced by several factors including burial location, quantity of body present, time of concentration and primary identification method used. Overall, this thesis expands our knowledge of First World War grave concentration, including how the battlefields were searched and how bodes were identified.
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    ItemOpen Access
    Forensic Toxicology in Embalmed Human Remains
    (2021-04) Lloyd, Richard G C; Harrison, K; Moore, H; Mai, N
    Within the human body, vitreous humour, cerebrospinal fluid and synovial fluid are all contained within anatomical compartments that, by virtue of their relative avascularity, provide considerable protection from contamination during the embalming process. Analysing samples taken from embalmed medical school cadavers, and using an entirely novel headspace GC/MS method, the concentration of formaldehyde in all three fluids is shown to be significantly less than has previously been assumed in the literature. Using a newly-developed LC/Q-ToF method, the stability of fifteen drugs of forensic interest in representative concentrations of formaldehyde is then reported. The study is prompted by the fact that United Kingdom nationals are dying abroad with increasing frequency. Following repatriation of their bodies, an autopsy may be undertaken before permission for a funeral is granted. Although toxicological screening may form an important part of the investigative processes, there exists a large degree of uncertainty surrounding the reactive nature of formaldehyde, the main constituent of embalming fluids, with substances commonly implicated in drug-related deaths. It is the case, therefore, that in repatriated bodies, all of which are routinely embalmed before leaving the country in which death occurred, the presence of formaldehyde can cause significant problems for the forensic toxicologist. Although a number of papers in the past twenty years have investigated the challenges of drug detection in embalmed tissues, they have largely examined the problem from the perspective of histological samples preserved in formalin. While some of this work has, by implication, considered the analysis of samples taken from embalmed bodies, no studies have addressed directly the specific problems arising in the toxicological analysis of embalmed and repatriated bodies. The studies reported within the thesis demonstrate that there is considerable merit in undertaking further work on the usefulness of these fluids in the toxicological analysis of embalmed and repatriated nationals