The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation which is responsible for the maintenance of records and war graves of the 1.7 million British Imperial and Commonwealth subjects who died in the two world wars.
The Commission was established by Royal Charter in 1917 as ‘The Imperial War Graves Commission’, and renamed ‘The Commonwealth War Graves Commission” in 1960.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations, in 153 countries around the world.
“Our values and aims, laid out in 1917, are as relevant now as they were almost 100 years ago”, states The Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission adheres to four key principles:
Each of the dead should be commemorated by name on the headstone or memorial.
Headstones and memorials should be permanent.
Headstones should be uniform.
There should be no distinction made on account of military or civil rank, race or creed.
To find out more about The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, visit the website here.
Images courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News