Does anyone live near Arras, France or plan to visit that region in the near future?

[SwearySwearyQuiteContrary]

My great-grandfather was killed during WW1 and is buried at the Duisans British Cemetery near Arras. He came from Glasgow, the son of an impoverished Irish immigrant family that could not afford to repatriate his body or visit his grave in France. The family were allowed to pick a basic headstone, but were never in a position to visit the site in person. There has never been a tangible memento of his service or the events surrounding his death to give to his widow or son (my grandfather).

I emigrated to Australia years ago so a visit to his memorial is unlikely to be possible. It would be so wonderful if there was anyone out there in the MumsnetVerse who could spare the time to go to Duisans and photograph both his grave and the wider cemetery. I’d be very happy to pay petrol and afternoon tea costs if you think you can help.

Is it not available on here:
www.twgpp.org

Are you a member of one of the family history sites like Ancestry? There is a lot more available than there has been before, although it is very patchy for WW1. I can look him up for you if you haven't got access.

That website of the war graves photography project has left me with a huge lump in throat.

What a wonderful thing to do.

I did find it on the war graves photograph project! Thank you!
My offer still stands if anyone plans to be in the area in person.

....family that could not afford to repatriate his body

Just to say that almost no British soldiers' bodies were repatriated in WW1. The government stopped it at quite an early stage in the war, because only a few families could do it, so it was felt to be divisive, and also the conditions on the Western Front meant that it was often impractical or impossible anyway. The servicemen buried in the UK were nearly all those who died in hospital after being sent home wounded.

We we're just there early September. The cemetary and war memorial are quite something! We have friends living in arras and we had gone to drop our daughter off to stay with them for four weeks and go to school with their children. We stayed the weekend and visited the memorial on our way back to the ferry

There are people who live over there doing tours who will be able to locate it instantly. Give them a few quid and im sure they would be happy to.

I had no idea about The War Graves Photographic Project, how wonderful of all those volunteers and it's a brilliant website.

I had known for many years that my paternal grandfather is buried at the Loos Memorial in France; never visited, but fascinating to discover that it's possible to buy a photo of his gravestone - even if we never manage to get there in person.

Glad you found it. You could also try contacting the National Archive to see if they hold any unusual records on your relative - they have copies of letters sent by two soldiers to the sister of my great great uncle (I think is) describing how he died.

Try asking Leger holidays to put you in touch with one of their ww1 tour guides. They have proper historical and research knowledge and the one we had lived in the area. Maybe you could pay one of them to do it for you.