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Introduction I Repatriation I The Royal Navy I Contemporary British Government Policy on Wrecks I San Carlos I Zwanenburg
Repatriation
Until 1968 the policy of Her Majesty's Government
was that Service personnel who died overseas should be buried close to where
they fell. Prior to that date, funeral arrangements for a deceased Serviceman
overseas would have been a matter for the formation concerned and burial
would have taken place locally. Now if a Serviceman or Servicewoman dies
overseas, the remains may be repatriated at public expense and buried in
a cemetery chosen by the family. The next of kin are given the choice of
local burial or repatriation, if they choose local burial, they may be transported
to the location at public expense. There is no retrospective repatriation
for those buried prior to 1968. It thus became necessary to devise a ceremony
of repatriation which acknowledged the primacy of the family, whilst retaining
the bond between the casualty and his or her Service 'family'. It is an integral
component of the ethos of the British Armed Forces, that the relevant arm
of Service, regiment, or corps has the opportunity to honour a fallen member
of its own 'family'. The provision of bearers from the appropriate Service
to remove the coffin from the aircraft with ceremony and place it in the
hearse fulfils this requirement. That this takes place in the presence of
the casualty's own family, is the essence of this ceremony. There are no
formal prayers, but padres are in attendance. The ceremony was designed to
make it as individual a return for the next of kin as possible, whilst not
resembling a funeral. The station used for repatriation to UK is Royal Air
Force Brize Norton. The number of coffins repatriated at any one time is
kept to a minimum to ensure that the ceremony is not over long. Coffins are
brought off the aircraft in order of Service i.e. Royal Navy, Army, and then
Royal Air Force. Royal Air Force staff are on hand to ensure that families
are sensitively supported. A military pattern headstone is provided (if wanted
by the next of kin) and the grave and headstone are maintained in perpetuity
by MOD. Maintenance standards for cemeteries containing Service graves are
laid down in a technical bulletin which is revised from time to time.
