There are more than 170,000 Commonwealth War Graves in the United Kingdom and, of these, 20,000 are found in Scotland -- at over 1,200 locations.

Following a general inspection in 2011, several of these plots were highlighted as falling below the Commission's high standards of maintenance.

Work to renovate the plots quickly got under way and a number of projects are now nearing completion at Campbeltown, Stornaway and Ashaig on Skye.

The CWGC has completed a full renovation of the war graves plot at Trowbridge Cemetery, Wiltshire. 

The plot, which contains 19 burials from the two world wars, was completely re-turfed, with new headstone borders also dug and planted.

Wiltshire Council described the renovation as a lovely tribute to the people from the Trowbridge area who gave their lives in the two world wars.

Trowbridge Cemetery will also receive a CWGC sign that indicates that there are Commonwealth war graves within the cemetery.
 

As part of our preparations for the 14 – 18 Centenary, the CWGC is installing visitor information panels at no fewer than 500 of our most significant First World War sites.

Through the use of the latest Quick Reader or QR Code technology, we are using the panels to tell the human stories behind the history – and we need your help.

By scanning the code with a mobile phone or other handheld device, visitors will also be able to access the stories of two or three casualties commemorated at the site.

We are currently looking for the personal stories of those buried at Etreux British Cemetery, Guards Grave, Vailly British Cemetery and Houplines Communal Cemetery Extension, France

If you are aware of a personal story relating to any of these four sites, we would love to hear from you at newsletter@cwgc.org.

Click on the tab below to view an example of one of the microsites.

When researching the Old Boys from his school, who had given their lives in the First World War, 14 year-old Conor Reeves was struck by the lack of a place within the school to commemorate them.

As a result, Conor has set about raising funds to create a Peace Garden.

The Garden will function as a place where staff and pupils can go to reflect and pay their respects.

Conor hopes that the garden will also go some way to inspiring young people to take an interest in the First World War and to show pupils that the market town where they live was, like most places, touched by The Great War.

Conor has already made significant developments with planning and fundraising for the project and you can follow his progress by visiting his blog.

Click on the link below to read the story of William Clark Wheatley, one of the former Sandbach Grammar School pupils who will be honoured in Conor's Peace Garden.

A huge element of the 14-18 Visitor Information Panel Project is sourcing appropriate and relevant images for each panel.

Finding suitable images from the first year of the war is a particular challenge as there were not yet any official photographers.

The first few months of the war are particularly difficult as the small British Expeditionary Force was marching and fighting hard from the moment it arrived in France in August until late November 1914 -- offering men very little time for taking photographs.

Click  on the link below to access the full blog where Lynelle discusses how she and the team have worked to overcome these challenges and shares with you a selection of fascinating images which they have already been able to source.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has placed the first of up to 65 Visitor Information Panels in Belgium, at Ypres Town Cemetery and Extension and the Potijze Chateau Cemeteries.

Altogether 500 such panels are being installed at cemeteries and memorials over the coming months and years, to mark the 14 - 18 Centenary.

As well as detailing the historical and geographical context of the site, each panel will also host a QR (Quick Reader) code, allowing smartphone users to download the stories of some of the casualties buried in the cemetery.

Click on the tab below to discover the microsite for Ypres Town, including the story of Prince Maurice of Battenburg, a member of the British Royal Family and the youngest grandchild of Queen Victoria.

This month’s feature concentrates on possibly the most obscure battle that took place in the First World War.

On New Year’s Day, 1915, fighting broke out in Broken Hill, New South Wales, giving rise to the first, and possibly only, incident of the First World War involving Australian civilians.

Thanks to the Western Front Association (WFA) for providing this article. The WFA is a registered charity dedicated to perpetuating the memory of those who served in the First World War.

For further information about the WFA please visit their website.

Nearly 500 Commonwealth war dead of the two world wars are commemorated in three sites in Serbia. The Commission also maintains 18 foreign war graves and 11 non-world war graves.

The majority of the 1914–18 war graves in Serbia belong to servicemen who died of influenza after the Armistice with Bulgaria.

Most of the 1939–45 casualties are airmen who died on operations or soldiers who died after escaping as prisoners of war from Italy and Greece.