Work in UK Area
-
Upload
commonwealth-war-graves-commission -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
0
description
Transcript of Work in UK Area
What’s here?
You may be surprised to know that
over 300,000 Commonwealth war
dead are commemorated in the
United Kingdom – in almost 13,000
different locations. This is the highest
total of world war commemorations
in any country, other than France.
Enquiries on location of individual burials orcommemorations may be directed to these officesor to the Commission’s web site at www.cwgc.orgwhere there is an online searchable database.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
2 Marlow Road MaidenheadBerkshireSL6 7DXTel: +44 (0) 1628 507200Fax: +44 (0) 1628 771208E-mail: [email protected]
United Kingdom AreaCommonwealth War Graves Commission
Jenton Road, SydenhamLeamington SpaWarwickshire CV31 1XSTel: +44 (0) 1926 330137Fax: +44 (0) 1926 456595E-mail: [email protected]
The work of the C
omm
onwealth W
ar Graves C
omm
ission in theU
nite
d K
ingd
om
www.cwgc.org
Why?
The practice of non-repatriation of the dead
established during the First World War meant
that Commonwealth servicemen and women,
who died on active service abroad, were
buried there.
The majority of those buried in the UK –
more than 170,000 casualties – are the men
and women who died at home in military
hospitals. Others may have died in training
accidents or air raids and some were killed in
action in the air or at sea in coastal waters,
their bodies washed ashore.
For most of these casualties the UK was their
home. As wartime service burials for those
who died in their own country were not
strongly regulated, they were largely laid
to rest not in war cemeteries, but in
locations chosen by their families – often
in family graves scattered throughout
cemetery grounds.
The graves of those for whom the UK was
not home are centred in areas where there
were troop concentrations, military training
camps and hospitals, and, during the Second
World War, air force bases from which
Commonwealth squadrons operated.
Over 100,000 missing naval and air force
casualties are also commemorated on the
great memorials at Chatham, Plymouth,
Portsmouth, Tower Hill and Runnymede.
Who looks after them?
The Commonwealth War Graves
Commission has a responsibility for all
the war graves in the UK. But the wide
dispersal and variety of war graves
throughout the UK demands a unique
approach to their care.
In other countries the majority of
cemeteries fall under the Commission’s
direct control, but in the UK they are
largely maintained by third parties.
There are as many as 6,500
maintenance agreements in place with
local authorities, churches, councils,
contractors and even individuals.
A team of regional inspectors ensures
that all maintenance agreements are
satisfactory and mobile caretakers,
stonemasons and gardeners supplement
contractors’ work where required.
THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE
Front Cover: Cambridge City Cemetery
Harrogate (Stonefall) CemeteryRunnymede Memorial
What’s here?
You may be surprised to know that
over 300,000 Commonwealth war
dead are commemorated in the
United Kingdom – in almost 13,000
different locations. This is the highest
total of world war commemorations
in any country, other than France.
Enquiries on location of individual burials orcommemorations may be directed to these officesor to the Commission’s web site at www.cwgc.orgwhere there is an online searchable database.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
2 Marlow Road MaidenheadBerkshireSL6 7DXTel: +44 (0) 1628 507200Fax: +44 (0) 1628 771208E-mail: [email protected]
United Kingdom AreaCommonwealth War Graves Commission
Jenton Road, SydenhamLeamington SpaWarwickshire CV31 1XSTel:+44 (0) 1926 330137Fax:+44 (0) 1926 456595E-mail:[email protected]
The
wor
k of
the
Com
mon
wea
lth W
ar G
rave
s C
omm
issio
n in
the
United K
ingd
om
www.cwgc.org
Why?
The practice of non-repatriation of the dead
established during the First World War meant
that Commonwealth servicemen and women,
who died on active service abroad, were
buried there.
The majority of those buried in the UK –
more than 170,000 casualties – are the men
and women who died at home in military
hospitals. Others may have died in training
accidents or air raids and some were killed in
action in the air or at sea in coastal waters,
their bodies washed ashore.
For most of these casualties the UK was their
home. As wartime service burials for those
who died in their own country were not
strongly regulated, they were largely laid
to rest not in war cemeteries, but in
locations chosen by their families – often
in family graves scattered throughout
cemetery grounds.
The graves of those for whom the UK was
not home are centred in areas where there
were troop concentrations, military training
camps and hospitals, and, during the Second
World War, air force bases from which
Commonwealth squadrons operated.
Over 100,000 missing naval and air force
casualties are also commemorated on the
great memorials at Chatham, Plymouth,
Portsmouth, Tower Hill and Runnymede.
Who looks after them?
The Commonwealth War Graves
Commission has a responsibility for all
the war graves in the UK. But the wide
dispersal and variety of war graves
throughout the UK demands a unique
approach to their care.
In other countries the majority of
cemeteries fall under the Commission’s
direct control, but in the UK they are
largely maintained by third parties.
There are as many as 6,500
maintenance agreements in place with
local authorities, churches, councils,
contractors and even individuals.
A team of regional inspectors ensures
that all maintenance agreements are
satisfactory and mobile caretakers,
stonemasons and gardeners supplement
contractors’ work where required.
T H E I R N A M E L I V E T H F O R E V E R M O R E
Front Cover: Cambridge City Cemetery
Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery Runnymede Memorial
What to look for
Directly maintained sites
Five cemeteries in the UK are
directly controlled and cared for by
our staff; Brookwood Military
Cemetery, Cambridge City, Cannock
Chase War Cemetery, Newark Upon
Trent Cemetery and Harrogate
(Stonefall) Cemetery. These sites bear
the strongest comparisons to those
overseas and between them contain
approximately 8,500 war graves.
Military cemeteries
Here war graves appear alongside
other non-world war service burials.
These cemeteries largely remain the
property of the Ministry of Defence,
with the Commission taking
responsibility for the war graves.
War Grave Plots
In both world wars land was set
aside by cemetery authorities and
churches specifically for war burials.
There are about 400 of these plots,
containing between them 20,000
graves. They generally contain
horticultural and structural features
common to the Commonwealth war
cemeteries abroad – including a
Cross of Sacrifice if the plot, or total
number of graves, is large enough.
Screen Walls
Where local regulations prevented the marking
of individual graves by headstones screen walls
were erected to commemorate the individuals
by name – they are also used to commemorate
casualties whose remains were cremated and in
instances of ‘alternative commemoration’, where
for any reason the graves in a cemetery or
churchyard are no longer maintainable and a
decision is taken to provide alternative
commemoration for the casualties.
Scattered War Graves
Individual graves account for the great majority of
war burials in the UK and are to be found in
every conceivable type of burial ground –
including your local churchyard. The majority are
marked with Commission headstones but a
significant number, over 30,000, are marked by
private memorials chosen by relatives at the time.
Memorials
More than 130,000 of the Commonwealth
servicemen and women commemorated in the
UK have no known grave but are remembered,
by name, on memorials to the missing.
Where to go
Brookwood Military Cemetery
Thirty miles from London, Brookwood Military
Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth war
cemetery in the UK – covering around 37 acres
and commemorating over 5,000 identified
casualties. In addition to the Commonwealth
plots, the cemetery also contains French, Polish,
Czech, Belgian, Italian and American sections and
a number of war graves of other nationalities.
Runnymede Memorial
Overlooking the River Thames, between
Windsor and Egham, the Runnymede Memorial
commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen
and women who were lost in the Second
World War, and who have no known graves.
Tower Hill Memorial
Standing on the south side of the garden of
Trinity Square, close to the Tower of London,
the Tower Hill Memorial commemorates men
and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing
Fleets who died in both world wars and who
have no known grave. The First World War
section commemorates 12,000 casualties and
the Second World War extension
commemorates a further 24,000.
Cliveden War Cemetery
Located within the grounds of National Trust
property, Cliveden House, Cliveden War
Cemetery commemorates 42 world war
casualties. The majority are First World War
burials associated with the then nearby
Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross
Hospital (1914-1917), and No.15 Canadian
General Hospital (1918-1919). As this
cemetery is within private property, visitors
should contact the Estate Office before visiting
– Tel: 01628 605069.
Cambridge City Cemetery
Known locally as Newmarket Road Cemetery,
Cambridge City Cemetery contains 181 First
World War burials and 829 Second World War
burials – three of which are unidentified. The
First World War casualties are largely
associated with the 1st Eastern General
Hospital which was posted to Cambridge
during the war. The Second World War graves
are to be found in two separate plots. The
General Service Plot was established in 1940
and the Air Force Plot was established in 1942,
for the burial of casualties from Air Force
stations set up in the eastern counties during
the war.
Cliveden War Cemetery Brookwood Military Cemetery
T H E I R N A M E L I V E T H F O R E V E R M O R E
Cannock Chase War Cemetery
Manchester (Philips Park) Cemetery Cross of Sacrifice and Screen Wall
Cambridge City Cemetery