On 1 November our speaker was Andy Tilby Baxter who is a volunteer for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and he gave us a talk on that organisation.
Andy started his talk by giving us an infographic which showed the breadth and reach of the
organisation; 1.7 million servicemen and women commemorated, the youngest being 14 years old and the oldest 91. 23,000 locations around the world and the employment of 850 gardeners. They have 1380 staff worldwide and work in 150 countries and territories. Another boggling statistic was that 1.1 million headstones were maintained and over 98,000 square metres of grass needed cutting. We were told about member governments and how funding was allocated. The qualifying dates were 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921 and 3 Sep 1939 to 31 Dec 1947 and Andy explained that the end dates for these periods reflected when peace treaties were signed. He then went on to talk about the origins of the organisation and that before the Commonwealth War Graves Commission there was no commemoration with no information getting back to the families of the fallen. Sir Fabian Ware, who worked with the British Red Cross during the war, was passionate that the dead should be commemorated. This was a mammoth task.
Andy told us about the founding principles of the CWC including that all commonwealth war dead should be commemorated with their name on a permanent, uniform headstone with no distinction of rank or status with standard lettering so that the words could be seen clearly from any angle. Families were consulted about a personal inscription they wished to have on the headstone of their loved one. We were told that there was a Cross of Sacrifice or a Stone of Remembrance depending on the size of the cemetery.
He then told us about the monuments and memorials maintained by the CWC which recognised missing personnel, including Vimy Ridge in France, Menin Gate in Ypres and the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and including the largest sites of Tyne Cot Cemetery in Ypres and the Thiepval Memorial in France.
The organisation is environmentally conscious; a plush green meadow would not be appropriate in places like Irag where water is at a premium. The organisation was also respectful about how different places had their own customs about how the dead were commemorated and that there was a reciprocal arrangement with other countries equivalent organisations of the CWC in Poland, Germany etc.
Andy told us about the work carried out in the Commonwealth War Graves Visitor Centre in Arras and how the organisation was responsible for repairs to monuments and cemeteries and that where possible, local work people were used. He talked about the Archives Collection which were held and told us how we could search these and also the ongoing projects the CWC were involved in, including a huge process of digitisation. Also there was at present research into African personnel who were ignored after the war for whatever the reason, possibly the culture at the time, and for these people to be commemorated. He showed us some of the fascinating items in the collection including correspondence which showed that there was some resistance to some of the early decisions that were made, for example regarding the headstones all containing a Christian cross; the organisation felt any symbol should reflect the personal faith of those who had died.
The talk was brought to close with Andy telling us a little about the MacRoberts Trust which
contributes to the CWC by financing guides and talks to inform people about the work of the
organisation. He also reminded us that there were opportunities for members of the public to
contribute stories and photographs to the archives to continue to commemorate their loved ones.
Lorraine Simpson
