Auhtor: Lt Col (Retd) Steve Colling, Corps Historian

We have been collecting photographs of the gravestones of REME soldiers who died whilst serving; not just those who died in the Second World War but all those who have died since the Corps formed in October 1942. The intention is to include the images and show them on our interactive Remembrance display in the Museum.

For those who haven't visited or need a reminder, the interactive display consists of a large screen reading off the names of all REME personnel who have died while serving with the Corps, and a touch tablet to search a specific soldier's name. The display has been upgraded and now includes placeholders for images of the gravestone and the soldier. It will continue to be updated as we collect images. We’re making good progress with images of the gravestones though there’s still a long way to go. More challenging though, is sourcing images of the soldiers concerned.

My predecessor here at the Museum, Mike Crabbe, attended the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of the events at Newlands Farm when a V1 bomb hit workshop accommodation killing 52 members of 6 (Guards) Tank Brigade Worksop. He met Jo Stokes, whose grandfather died that day and Jo has kindly let us have a photograph of her grandfather, Corporal James Hatt.

The image now forms part of Cpl Hatt's record on the interactive display.

We published an article on the Lenham Incident on our Blog, as part of our campaign covering events in Normandy (D-Day to VE Day) and were contacted by Sarah Taylor whose grandfather, Cfn David John Hudson, also died that day. 

Sarah sent us a photograph of Cfn Hudson and copies of some of the paperwork she has. This means we now have a better understanding of who he was, how the next of kin were informed of his death and a copy of the note sent on behalf of The King and Queen.

Cfn Hudson's portrait image and gravestone have been uploaded to the interactive display in the Remembrance Gallery.

An example of the documents we now have associated to Cfn Hudson.

Cpl Hatt and Cfn Hudson were just two of the 52 casualties at Newlands Farm, Charing, Kent on 24 June 1944.

If you have a photograph of a REME soldier who died in service or a REME gravestone that you can share, or if you would like to discuss this project, please get in touch.