War bravery of hundreds overlooked (original) (raw)

A former teacher at a top Manchester school who died during the First World War is among hundreds never before officially recognised for their bravery.

Gertrude Powicke, a modern languages teacher at Manchester High School in Fallowfield, was among those killed in Europe whose deaths were overlooked by the British government and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Ms Powicke died of typhoid while working for a relief organisation in Poland.

Dr Anne-Marie Claire Hughes, from the University of Manchester, has also discovered that more than 400 munitions workers killed in factory accidents were overlooked as well.

The victims’ families lost out on state benefits and never received a death plaque – treasured by relatives of the official war dead.

Dr Hughes said: "There are in all probability a number of women who died in action, but are not listed as official war dead.

"Though very sad, the omission of women was not a result of any hostility towards women workers or prejudice by the authorities.

"Indeed, many of the women who died were recognised during the war by their own communities and buried alongside their male comrades.

"Instead, I think it was a natural result of the authorities struggling to cope with the huge numbers of British servicemen who were killed in the war – approximately 757,000 in all.

"It would be great to hear about any others who are out there but not officially recognised."

Peter Francis, from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, said: "No one had ever commemorated the deaths of ordinary soldiers before, so they were still figuring out how to do it.

"They decided that you would be included if you died in service or from wounds obtained during service between 1914 and 1921. Civilians employed as part of the war effort were not.

"We pressed for this to change after the Spanish Civil War when more civilians died than soldiers. Now they are included."

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