From the aerial pioneers who added a new dimension to warfare over the muddy fields of northern France in 1914, to “The Few” who battled the Luftwaffe in 1940 and prevented a German seaborne invasion, the debt of gratitude we owe the men and women of the Commonwealth air forces, and indeed the rest of the armed forces, is huge. But who ensures their final resting places are not forgotten? Who makes certain that cemeteries and memorials are built and maintained to an exacting standard? Who helps instil the feeling that their supreme sacrifice should never be forgotten? The answer to all of these questions is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Founded in 1917 by Royal charter, the Commission now cares for and maintains the records, memorials and graves of some 1.7 million people from the two World Wars in 150 countries. Theirs is the never-ending vigil.
Whilst The Battle of Britain is the best known of the aerial encounters between Commonwealth and German forces, the air campaigns of the Second World War were numerous and stretched across the globe. From Singapore and El Alamein to Malta and the Battle of the Atlantic, the bravery of the air and ground crews who served is remembered at thousands of cemeteries and, where no known grave is known, by memorials where each name is inscribed. The painstaking task of maintaining these places is carried out by the Commission. The bravery shown by aircrews during the First World War is also remembered. As part of the Arras Memorial in France, designed by Sir Edward Lutyens, the Flying Services Memorial honours those men and women the Royal Naval Air Service, the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force and the Australian Flying Corps.
Although the important work of maintaining cemeteries and memorials lies at the heart of what the Commonwealth War Graves Commission does, its staff carry out many other tasks. Each year hundreds of thousands of people receive help from the Commission in discovering more about their relatives who died during the First and Second World Wars. Commission staff also give talks, organise exhibitions and help teachers with educational resources and advice on how to organise battlefield trips.
The work in honouring the fallen is ongoing. The newest project being overseen by the Commission is an excavation of several mass graves in northern France, which date from July 1916. The pits at Fromelles are believed to contain the remains of between 250 and 400 British and Australian troops. Archaeologists began the painstaking task of carefully exhuming the bodies in May 2009. The primary aim of the Fromelles operation is to completely excavate, record, recover and analyse the mass graves and recover all of the human remains and associated evidence in an appropriate manner and to approved standards. These servicemen will then be buried with the dignity and honour their sacrifice deserves at a new cemetery – the first to be built by the Commission in 50 years. In addition, it is hoped that through the careful application of scientific and forensic techniques and detailed historical research some of the soldiers will be identified and their families contacted.
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