2023-02 Commonwealth War Graves
Westbury & District u3a members were given a very interesting talk by Mr John Wort on the Commonwealth and War Graves Commission (CWGC). The CWGC looks after graves only from those brave souls lost between the dates 4 Aug 1914 - 31 Aug 1921 and 3 Sep 1939 - 31 Dec 1947. There has to be strict cut-off dates for obvious reasons. There are plans to identify all war graves in the UK; currently the CWGC looks after 1.1 million headstones. 1.7 million servicemen and women are commemorated in 23,000 locations around the world, employing 850 gardeners and 160 craftsmen.
The CWGC founding principles are:
-Each of the Commonweath dead should be commemorated by name in a headstone or memorial
-Headstones and memorials should be permanent
-Headstones should be uniform with no distinction for rank or status.
John recommended a book to us: The Great War - Chippenham Soldiers, by Richard Broadhead.
It was a fascinating talk, well-received by all present.