Welcome!

Welcome to our July Newsletter

Our staff have been very busy this month taking part in outside events and you may well have visited one of our stands at Bayeux as part of the D-Day Commemorations or even Plymouth as part of the Armed Forces Day Commemorations. More about those later....

It is always a pleasure to meet you when we are out and about.  We always enjoy receiving your feedback. Just a reminder......

• Don't forget to sign up to the Fromelles newsletter to keep up to date with the project which is progressing fast
• Do send the newsletter on to others who may be interested in signing up

In the news.....

Vandalised war memorial restored to former glory

We are delighted to announce that the bronze name plaques which were stolen from the Commission's Naval Memorial on Plymouth Hoe have now been replaced.  The Commission was determined to replace the plaques in time for Armed Forces Day events, following the huge public outcry which followed the thefts stolen just hours after a Veterans' Day event on 29 June.  [read more on our news page] 

Boy killed in Second World War finally honoured

One of the youngest British casualties of the Second World War is to finally receive a headstone, exactly 68 years after he was killed aboard a merchant ship. Records show Reginald Earnshaw was aged “about 15” when he died aboard.... [click here for more on this article]
 

Forthcoming Events

The Ashes come to Cardiff

Until 12 July 2009 the Old Library in Cardiff will host The Ashes come to Cardiff exhibition. This will include a special display created by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission entitled Playing the Game which features cricketers commemorated by the Commission[Read More...]

Many other events and ceremonies regularly take place around the United Kingdom and overseas, do check the events page on our website for regularly updated information.

News from New Zealand

The Commission has a commitment at over 23,500 sites in 150 countries around the world. As you can imagine, each country presents its own challenges with regards maintenance.

To meet these challenges, our work around the globe is managed by a network of area offices, satellite offices, agencies and other representatives, coordinated by our Head Office in the United Kingdom. Some of these offices are part of the Commission itself, others act as agents for us, managing interests on our behalf.

This month, we feature the ANZAC commemorations which were co-ordinated by the Department of Culture and Heritage, the Commission's representatives in New Zealand.

Staff out and about

Report from staff at the D-Day Normandy Commemorations

A combined Commission exhibition team from Head Office and France Area were proud and honoured to play a small part in the 65th Anniversary of the D Day landings by mounting an exhibition in the Bayeux War Cemetery depicting the Commission's world wide task and in particular featuring the work of the 48 Graves Concentration Units operating in the area after the war. The staff present enjoyed helping and providing information to hundreds of Veterans, tourists, and local people over a very busy three day period (even Eddie Izzard called in)

In particular were were all very moved by the stories told to us by the the Veterans telling about  their D-Day experiences, and remembering the chums they had left behind.
 written by Nigel Haines,  Media  Supervisor Audio Visual & Publicity

Visiting a cemetery?

Unfortunately,  we need to restrict access to our cemeteries and memorials from time to time to ensure they remain at the highest possible standard.

If you are visiting a cemetery for a specific purpose check our Visitor Information Page. before you travel.

Runnymede Air Forces Memorial, Surrey: If you are visiting - or would just like more information about the memorial - why not listen to the Audio Guide? It is split into several sections and you can even download it  [Further information here....]
 

A-Z of countries

We continue our monthly feature, working our way through the alphabet, focussing on some of the more unusual places where we have a commitment

This Month.......C is for Cote d'Ivoire

Earlier featured countries can also be found on this page.

For your information , the other C's are: Canada, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China & Hong Kong, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic

Any comments?

Keep in touch and do let us know if you have any comments about the Commission's work, cemeteries, service or even this newsletter!

Your comments are always welcome: mail to : feedback

For further information on service standards, comments and complaints, please read our At Your Service Leaflet.

Response to feedback: You can now read this newsletter as a pdf - please use the link in the Useful Links section

July Newsletter

In this Issue

Useful Links

PDF version of this newsletter

Fromelles website

At Your Service leaflet

CWGC Events Page

Ashes Come to Cardiff

BBC News - Plymouth Memorial

New Zealand and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

CWGC New Zealand leaflet

CWGC holds no responsibility for the content of outside links

Pass it on

Do you know anyone who would like to receive this newsletter?
Click here to send it on up to 5 friends at once.

Your details

Click here to change your subscription details.