The Task

The Commission was established by Royal Charter in 1917. Its duties are to mark and maintain the graves of the members of the forces of the Commonwealth who were killed in the two World Wars, to build memorials to those who have no known grave and to keep records and registers, including, after the Second World War, a record of the Civilian War Dead.

It was the energy of Sir Fabian Ware, the Commission’s founder, which established the principles upon which the work of the Commission was built. Those principles, which have remained unaltered, were:

• each of the dead should be commemorated individually by name on 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.
  

The Thiepval Memorial, France

1,700,000 men and women of the Commonwealth forces died in the two World Wars. Of these the remains of 925,000 were found and their graves are marked by a headstone. Where the remains were not found, the casualty’s name is commemorated on a memorial. There are war graves in some 150 different countries; mostly in the 2,500 war cemeteries and plots constructed by the Commission.

There are also war graves in many civil cemeteries and churchyards throughout the world. The Commission employs craftsmen to maintain the architectural features of its cemeteries and memorials and embellishes its sites with horticulture to give the casualties fitting and peaceful commemoration.