British Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence unveiled new information panels at Chatham Naval Memorial, England, on the 31st October 2013.
The panels – an initiative of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – combine smart phone technology with traditional interpretive techniques.
Sir Tim Laurence is the Royal Naval Commissioner with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The panels unveiled by the Vice Admiral are among 500 being installed across the world in an effort to provide the public with more information during the Centenary of the First World War.
Chatham Naval Memorial
More than 100 of the panels are being erected in the United Kingdom and will provide details about the Commonwealth dead who are buried or commemorated at locations across the country.
Each of the panels carries information about the cemetery or memorial and a QR (Quick Response) code which, when scanned with a smartphone, provides access to further information, including the personal stories of some of the casualties buried or commemorated at that particular location.
Included in the QR codes on the Chatham Naval Memorial panels are the stories of two men who died on board the HMS Jervis Bay during the Second World War – Captain Edward Fegen VC and Thomas Rainsbury, whose nephew will be present at the unveiling.
Sir Tim Laurence said that the panels will “help visitors gain an understanding of why these memorials exist, why it is important to visit them and maintain them, and who these men and women were”.
“It will help bring home to all of us the great sacrifice made by the servicemen and women who went away to fight in two world wars. It is a powerful way to combine traditional forms of remembrance, with new technology, to ensure we never forget”.
Councillor Josie Iles, the Mayor of Medway, said: “Medway has a unique connection with the Royal Navy through Chatham Historic Dockyard. I am pleased that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission has used the very latest communication technology to bring to life the stories of those service people from Medway who gave their lives during the two world wars.”
Source: Commonwealth War Graves Commission press release
Date of press release: 31/10/2013
Images courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News