Norwich – Earlham Cemetery (Harry Land)

This is the war grave of Harry Land, located at Earlham Cemetery, but not in the main Commonwealth War Graves section. Someone might contact me here, as I’ve had to make a big assumption to work this one out. The military records of Harry aren’t available, nor is there any information on the Commonwealth War Graves web-site giving further details of an address of next of kin.

So, working back, he served in the 10th battalion of the Suffolk Regiment, a reserves unit which never left the UK. On the date of Harry’s death, this battalion were stationed in Dovercourt in Essex, having just moved from Colchester. And on the day that Harry died, 23 April 1916, a death was registered in that area of someone with the same name who was born in 1884, so we now have a birthdate.

There is only one Harry Land in East Anglia that I can find with that birth-year, he was born on 24 May 1884 and was the son of Harry and Charlotte Land. At the 1891 census, Harry (younger), his parents and siblings were living at King’s Road in Norwich, with Harry attending the Prospect Row Council School and then the Carrow Boys School. The family lived at Cypress Street at this point, moving to 9 Geoffrey Road in Norwich by 1901, when Harry was working as a gas-fitter and bell-hanger. At the 1911 census, Harry still lived with his parents and siblings, this time at 45 Carlyle Road in Norwich and he was now working at a corn and seed store.

This is the best I can do, and I don’t understand why he would be in the Suffolk Regiment, something which concerns me slightly about whether this is right. Anyway, hopefully this little mystery might get solved one day.