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Welcome to our September Newsletter We hope you had an enjoyable summer and that many of you had an opportunity to visit a Commission cemetery on your travels. Thank you! Thank you to those of you who completed the web survey in the last newsletter. We have also been conducting a much wider review of our website over the last few months. You may be interested in the report, which can be accessed here. Many of you left comments in the last review which needed an answer, but unfortunately the review was anonymous, so if it is important do email the feedback address below. 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 However, If you have an enquiry about our work or wish to trace a casualty please contact our Enquiries Section
If you have not already done so, do check out the Fromelles website which is regularly updated. The website contains information on recent news releases and even blogs from the team working on site; providing information on the excavation as it progresses The website www.cwgc.org/fromelles also has its own newsletter, and contains very interesting background information. During August, Australian and United Kingdom defence ministers Greg Combet and Kevan Jones announced that full-scale DNA testing would be carried out on the Pheasant Wood remains in an attempt to establish individual identities. Further information can be found on the website. 
We receive many enquiries about the monuments and graves in our cemeteries and this regular feature should help answer some of those queries. Headstones First among the Commission’s responsibilities is the commemoration by name of all Commonwealth servicemen and women who died during the two world wars either on a headstone marking the grave or, if the grave is not known, on a memorial to the missing. What information can be found on a headstone? Individual graves are marked by headstones, differentiated only by their inscriptions, as outlined below:
The Commission uses more than 30 different types of stone for the manufacture of the headstones. In some countries, where there is a risk of earth movement, you will find tablet or pedestal markers. Problems reading the headstones? As our structures and headstones age, in fact some are nearly 100 years old, their legibility becomes a problem. The Commission has now embarked on a major reengraving programme. The project is expected to take at least 28 years with an estimated cost of £15 million. Find out more We are always trying to find ways of ensuring the younger generations learn more about our work and our history. During the summer Jen Waller spent time doing work experience with the Commission. Read more about the time she spent with us recently and watch her video report. Do you know any teachers or students? Why not forward on this email - the new Learning Zone - giving access to our cross-curricular resources - is most helpful, particularly as preparation for Remembrance in November gets underway (specific resources here) 
Many of you are aware of the more well known memorials such as The Menin Gate in Belgium and Thiepval Memorial in France, which commemorate over 126,000 between them. However, the Commission maintains nearly 300 memorials, both large and small, all around the world, commemorating nearly 760,000 Commonwealth servicemen and women in total. One of these lesser known memorials, is: Jerusalem Memorial The JERUSALEM MEMORIAL was designed by Sir John Burnet, with sculpture by Anning Bell and Gilbert Bayes. It was unveiled by Lord Allenby and Sir James Parr on 7 May 1927 (shown in photo). It stands within Jerusalem War Cemetery and commemorates 3,297 Commonwealth servicemen (see breakdown below) who died during the First World War in operations in Egypt or Palestine and who have no known grave. United Kingdom 2982 Australia 241 65th Anniversary of Operation Marked Garden Our mobile exhibition stand will be at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery on Friday 18th Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September as part of the 65th Anniversary of Operation Market Garden. On Sunday the cemetery is the venue for the moving Service of Remembrance when local school children lay flowers on the graves of each of those who died liberating their country. Check the events page on our website for regularly updated information. 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.......Eritrea The other E's are, Egypt*, Equitorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Estonia *why not have a look at our information leaflet on El Alamein, Egypt. Do you have a story about anyone commemorated in Fiji you would like included in our report on Fiji in the next issue - do let us know. Did you know? In the last quarter, from May to July 2009, the Commission's Enquiries Section, at our main office in Maidenhead, received
If you have an enquiry about our work or wish to trace a casualty please contact our Enquiries Section Information leaflet 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. |
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September 2009 NewsletterIn this Issue
Useful Links PDF version of this newsletter CWGC Headstone Engraving programme *CWGC holds no responsibility for the content of outside links Pass it on Do you know anyone who would like to receive this newsletter? |
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