Drawing by M. Newell 07/02/1945

Our graves in France.
Headstone of Uniform design for Every One.

The Imperial War Graves Commission has finally decided upon the form of memorial stone which shall stand at the head of the grave of every soldier - known and unknown - in properly arranged and indicated cemeteries in France.

The design selected is of Portland stone, 2 ft. 6 in. in height and 15 in. broad, upon which the cross or other religious symbol of the dead soldier's faith can be carved and his regimental badge fully displayed.

A prominent member of the commission informed the Press yesterday that the opinion of the commission was that the sense of dignity, form and abidingness of these stones standing shoulder to shoulder in a completed cemetery would be most impressive.

Individual designs and their erection privately by the family concerned had been fully considered, but this idea was rejected owing to limitations of space and to the objection that differences between those erected by the rich and by poor relatives would destroy the predominating principle of equality.

Relatives would be allowed to choose any inscription within the limits of space and appropriateness.

The names of those who died but whose body was not found were inscribed on walls or monument provided at the cemetery where their comrades were buried.

If a body is found now and positively identified, they are given a burial with the gravestone and his name is removed from the wall or monument as he is no longer missing.

Even now, names are being discovered and efforts are being made to add these to the walls or monuments. At Thiepval, there is no more room to add names. A decision was made to create a 'virtual' memorial where such names can be placed. However, this no longer applies, and names are added where room can be found.

The standard design of the headstones was not met with universal approval.

The Northern Echo 31/01/1919 reports:

Gravestones in France.

Alternative designs suggested by Col. Sir James Legard.

Arising out of the minute in regard to the War Graves Commission report in enforcing uniformity of gravestones to those laid in France, Col. Sir James Legard, at yesterday's meeting of the North Riding Territorial Association, moved that in case of permanent memorials already erected by relatives, they be allowed to remain, or if destroyed, restored at the cost of the relatives, and when relatives disliked the proposed headstones, they should be allowed to submit alternative designs and erect them at their own cost.

Col. Wharton seconded the motion.

Col. Godman thought there was need for uniformity where all died for the same cause. Where parents desired to have a special form it could be done in the church at home.

Ald. John Hutton thought that the Commission's proposal was preposterous.

The resolution was passed.

The Illustrated Chronicle21/04/1920 reports:

The Graves of our Heroes.
Protest against Monuments Motion in the Commons.

The Honourable Sir George Perey. K.C.M.G., High Commissioner for Canada, has addressed a letter to the Secretary of State for War, protesting against a motion, which is set down for discussion, shortly, in the House of Commons, to the effect that the relatives of those who fell in the war should be allowed to erect monuments of their own choosing over the graves of their fallen relatives, subject to certain regulations.

"This motion seems to me" writes Sir George, "to strike directly at the root of the principle of equality of treatment of war graves, which was accepted by the Imperial Conference of 1918, and specially supported by Sir Robert Borden and Mr. W.M. Hughes at that time."

After referring to the work already accomplished, Sir George Perey suggests that those disposed to criticise should go overseas and see for themselves the work which is being done.

The Darlington and Stockton Times 26/11/1921 carries the following:

"War Graves
Commission decides to add ages.

The War Office announces that the Imperial War Graves Commission has discussed the question of the engraving of ages on headstones, and has decided that in all cases where the next-of-kin desire that the age should be engraved, this shall in future be done at the expense of the commission.

Up to now the engraving of the ages on the headstones has been done at the expense of the relatives, and the commission paid only in cases where the people were too poorly circumstanced to pay themselves. This system led to endless complications and a great deal of misapprehension.

Thus a long and totally unnecessary dispute with the War Commission ends satisfactorily. The war was a young men's war, and it was felt on all sides that a memorials would be practically meaningless unless they showed hos Great Britain and its Dependencies gave the flower of their young for the Empire, as well as the pick of their manhood."

Those who died in their own country.

In a reply to a query from NEWMP in 2016, the CWGC state:

There are more than 170,000 Commonwealth war graves in 12,000 different cemeteries and churchyards throughout the U.K. The reason for the large number of burial grounds is that the military authorities did not seek to control where servicemen and women were buried when they died in their home country, and most were therefore not buried in military cemeteries but in local churchyards and cemeteries at the wishes of their families. Often, they were buried in family graves, marked by ‘private memorials’. In the case of First World War casualties that died in the U.K, their memorials were often erected before the Commission was founded or before it was able to begin providing headstones. Even during the Second World War, when the work of the Commission was better known, many families elected to bury their loved ones in private graves in civil cemeteries and churchyards, marked by memorials of their choosing.

In general terms, the position is that the families of the casualties that died in the U.K were all offered Commission ‘war pattern’ headstones but many declined as explained above. Our staff do however, inspect these private memorials on a cyclical basis and as long as the name of a war casualty is legible on a private memorial then, for our purposes, he or she is adequately commemorated. Parts of the stone or kerbs on the grave may become damaged or broken over time, but the Commission would not be responsible for their repair. Although not part of our remit, whenever possible, we will seek to improve the legibility of a private memorial through in-painting the inscription but when, in the opinion of a Regional Supervisor, a private memorial no longer provides adequate commemoration, then steps would be taken to erect a Commission headstone with consent from the family/grave owner and local authorities.