At the start of this month the Commonwealth War Graves Commission made significant improvements to the Casualty Search page on its website.  It is now possible to search for a casualty's record using his/her Forename (as well as initials).  The casualty result obtained is now available as a pdf, which can be saved to a computer and/or attached to an email.  A new facility is the option to search for categories or all casualties by date on any single day.

The link below is to a pdf that includes a table of number of casualties of all types during all 31 days of July 1917.  It was a relatively quiet month on the Western Front, but its average daily death toll of Commonwealth casualties was about 500.  On the 9th HMS Vanguard blew apart in Scapa Flow and 842 sailors died, another of wounds on the 11th.  The opening attack of the Battle of Passchendaele on the 31st cost the British Army nearly 6000 killed.  Brief details of all the Orcadians who died in July 1917 are given, with photos where available.