November 2023
Robin Stapleton takes a look at the history of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission…
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was originally called the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), which received its royal charter on 21 May 1917. Its name was changed in 1960 to reflect the changed times, and the organisation is now supported by Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa as well as the UK.
The CWGC cares for the graves of 1.7 million men and women who died in the two world wars, and looks after cemeteries and memorials in 23,000 locations in over 150 countries. War graves for subsequent conflicts, such as the Falklands, are outside its mandate but it does help with design, construction and management. The largest cemetery, Tyne Cot in the Ypres Salient, has 12,000 burials, more than 8,000 of which sadly bear the inscription: “A soldier of the Great War – known unto God”. Tyne Cot also has a memorial wall naming nearly 35,000 missing with no known graves.
Other sites range in size down to just a single burial in a churchyard or communal cemetery. Here in Bridport, there are CWGC burials in the churchyards at Old Bothenhampton (2), Bradpole (1) and Walditch (2) plus 11 WW1 and 13 WW2 in the cemetery in Lower Walditch Lane.
Among the 200 memorials in the CWGC’s care, perhaps the best known is the Menin Gate in Ypres, bearing the names and regiments of over 54,000 Empire servicemen with no known grave. It is one thing just to quote a number; it is truly harrowing and overwhelmingly sad to see all those names filling the walls. Sailors lost at sea are recorded on the Royal Navy memorials at Southsea (Portsmouth), Plymouth and Chatham.
The IWGC arose out of the vision and single minded determination of Fabian Ware (later Sir). At the start of WW1, Ware was in charge of a Red Cross mobile medical unit, largely operating on his own initiative with the aim of searching for the wounded and missing to bring them back to British lines. Later Ware added a light hospital and a fleet of ambulances. With soaring casualties, the unit became increasingly involved in identifying and registering the dead and where they had been buried. Crosses with information written on them were left for later identification. It was dangerous and demanding work.
This work became formalised in the Graves Registration Commission (GRC), which dealt with political complications, negotiations and not least controversy. Out of all this arose the IWGC, with Ware continuing as the driving force throughout. The French and Belgian governments donated land for cemeteries in perpetuity and Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker were among the architects engaged.
It was an early decision that repatriation would not be allowed and all the fallen would be treated equally with no distinction on account of military or civil rank. A grave of a private could be next to that of a general, but account should be taken of religious and national sensitivities.
The GRC, after consultations, decided headstones should be uniform and normally of Portland stone with standard dimensions. Each headstone bears a national or regimental badge, rank, name, unit, date of death and an appropriate religious symbol. Relatives were allowed to choose a small personal dedication approved by IWGC. Recipients of the VC or GC would have that emblem included.
The GRC proposals were controversial and did not go unchallenged. In particular, some families wanted to bring their relative home to be buried in, say, a local churchyard or to choose a headstone and wording. This culminated in a petition to the Prince of Wales resulting in an emotional and to some extent bitter debate in parliament on 4 May 1920. At the end of the debate, members were urged not to force a division: “A division would harass every one of us. Our officers and men alike, on every stricken field have fallen together. In their death they were not divided. Let us, their fathers, not be divided here.” There was no vote.
The headstones are mostly laid out in straight lines with grass paths and a small flower border in front of each grave beautifully maintained by CWGC gardeners. The larger cemeteries have a shelter, large Cross of Sacrifice and a Stone of Remembrance commemorating those of all faiths or none.
The CWGC holds extensive records and archives including the location and plot number of every burial or where named on a memorial. You can search for a grave online here: www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead.