Welcome!

Welcome to our February Newsletter

January seems to have flown by and February is already upon us.  Heavy snow surprised us all in the United Kingdom and across Northern Europe and we are delighted to now be returning to normal.

Please note, for a pdf version of this newsletter, see RELATED LINKS>

News and Events

 New Year's Honour for Commission member of staff

We are sure you would like to join us in congratulating Mr Sandy Orr, who was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen as a  Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year's Honour list. 

Sandy has worked for the Commission since 1974 and has spent his career working in Scotland.

Fromelles Update

Burials in Fromelles

At 11:00 am on 30 January 2010, the ceremony to rebury the first of the 250 Australian and British soldiers recovered from Pheasant Wood took place at the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. 

The first soldier was buried with military honours in the presence of the people of Fromelles and dignitaries from Australia, the United Kingdom and France. You may already have seen coverage of the event on the news.

The burials will continue throughout February and further information can be found on the Fromelles website

As the cemetery nears completion, you may also be interested in a video on the construction of the cemetery.  Check out our website 

Date for your diaries

Who Do You Think You Are? Exhibition Olympia : Date for your diaries

Once again, we will be present at the Who Do You Think You Are exhibition which will be taking place at London's Olympia from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 February.

You will find us at stand 1033, upstairs in the Military Section and we will be sharing our spacewith The War Graves Photographic Project (TWGPP - further info in the At Your Service Section).

Do come along and visit us. We look forward to seeing you there!

Further information can be found on the Who Do You Think You Are website. 

Out and About

At work in the snow

Despite the heavy snow, our gardeners continued their winter duties.

At Oxford (Botley) Cemetery, a large team of our field staff could be found at work on the substantial Taxus hedge that encloses the war graves plot.  Further information can be found on our website

Snow is also an opportunity for all our equipment to be given a thorough maintenance check.  A variety of machinery is used for all purposes from lawnmowers to heavy lifting equipment, and it is vital that this equipment is maintained properly.

Without a doubt, however, we will be pleased to return to our regular maintenance schedule when access becomes possible.

E-Newsletter Survey

Thank you to all of you who took part in the newsletter survey last month.  Over 230 of you took part and we are delighted with the results. We have reviewed the comments and will be looking at them all to see if we can incorporate the suggestions in any future newsletters

Once again, we would like to thank all those who took the time to respond to this survey, the information gathered enables us to progress and develop our methods of communicating the Commission's activities.

If you would like to read the full report, it is available online here.

A-Z of countries

This month we visit once again countries around the world, focussing on some of the more unusual places where we have a commitment

This month we focus on Hungary.

Responsibility for the war graves in the Republic of Hungary rests with the Commission's Western Mediterranean Area office which is based in Rome. 

Researching a casualty

Just a quick note about researching a casualty.

• If you have an enquiry about our work or wish to trace a casualty please check out the Commission's website, before contacting us directly.
• The Search Our Records section of our website allows you to look for a casualty and also find information about a cemetery.
• Please only put information in that you are sure is correct. 
• The website also includes information about the work of the Commission and is regularly updated with news and events.
• Obviously, if your enquiry is of a more complex nature please contact our Enquiries Section but please note that enquiries take at least 4 weeks for a response.

Please remember, if you find a casualty on our website WITHOUT next of kin information, the Commission does not hold this information as it was not supplied.

At Your Service?

Did you know?

• If  you are new to the newsletter and want to read any previous newsletters, they can all be found on our website

• Our At Your Service leaflet  providing information on the service we provide, our service standards, comments and complaints has recently been updated.   Do have a look

• Do you want a photograph? We are now working in association with The War Graves Photographic Project (TWGPP) to supply photographs, either emailed or hard copies, of gravestones or memorials to those that request them. The TWGPP is a volunteer based organisation who are digitally recording every war grave around the world. If you would like to use the service or volunteer your help please visit the site using the link shown.

Please note this newsletter is hosted by www.wizontheweb.co.uk

February 2010 Newsletter

In this Issue

	Welcome!
	News and Events
	Fromelles Update
	Date for your diaries
	Out and About
	E-Newsletter Survey
	A-Z of countries
	Researching a casualty
	At Your Service?

Related Links

PDF version of this newsletter

*TWGPP

Fromelles website

CWGC Twitter page

CWGC Facebook page

At Your Service leaflet

Learning Zone

*CWGC holds no responsibility for the content of outside links

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