Central Powers :
136-673: Oxford Road Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located near Ypres ( Ieper ) in Belgium on the Western Front . The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by King Albert I of Belgium in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of Belgium during
272-759: A lieutenant into the Gordon Highlanders in October 1881. He joined the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders at Malta , and in 1882 went with them to Egypt, fighting at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir , the last battle in which the British Army fought in red coats . He stayed in Egypt, and in 1884 was appointed garrison adjutant and staff lieutenant of military police at Alexandria . In 1886, he married Sophia Geraldine Atkin (died 1931), an Irishwoman; they had two daughters and
408-593: A backyard in Hallu , France. In April 2013, the remains of four British soldiers discovered by a French farmer clearing land with a metal detector in 2009 were re-interred at H.A.C. Cemetery near Arras , France. In March 2014, the remains of 20 Commonwealth and 30 German soldiers were discovered in Vendin-le-Vieil , France, with the Commonwealth soldiers being subsequently reburied at Loos British Cemetery. When
544-582: A deterrent effect on those who may be detailed for future outrages." In December 1920 Macready informed the British Cabinet that the Military Governors of the martial law areas had been authorized to conduct reprisals. From December 1920 until June 1921 approximately 150 "official" reprisals were carried out. The new "Auxies" were following the bad example set by the local Irish police, the RIC, who had begun
680-451: A few exceptions, due to local geological conditions, the cemeteries follow the same design and uniform aesthetic all over the world. This makes the cemeteries easily recognisable and distinguishes them from war graves administered by other groups or countries. A typical cemetery is surrounded by a low wall or hedge and with a wrought-iron gate entrance. For cemeteries in France and Belgium,
816-491: A good deal better than at present", he told Sir John Anderson . He advised that ad hoc reprisals by the Black and Tans were not stopping the "murders". After the killing of sixteen Black and Tans in an ambush at Macroom , County Cork , martial law was declared on 10 December 1920 in the four Munster counties of Cork , Tipperary , Kerry and Limerick . Three days later Auxiliary Cadet Peter Harte opened fire while on patrol at
952-552: A good reference for every one who asked. Macready disliked Ireland and the Irish. He had already written to Ian Macpherson on the latter's appointment as Chief Secretary for Ireland in January 1919: "I cannot say I envy you for I loathe the country you are going to and its people with a depth deeper than the sea and more violent than that which I feel against the Boche ". In April 1920, Macready
1088-450: A land tablet near the entrance or along a wall identifies the cemetery grounds as having been provided by the French or Belgian governments. All but the smallest cemeteries contain a register with an inventory of the burials, a plan of the plots and rows, and a basic history of the cemetery. The register is located within a metal cupboard that is marked with a cross located in either the wall near
1224-451: A limited area, like along the Western Front or Gallipoli peninsula , mobile teams of gardeners operate from a local base. Elsewhere, larger cemeteries have their own dedicated staff while small cemeteries are usually tended by a single gardener working part-time. The affairs of the CWGC are overseen by a board of commissioners. The president of the board is HRH Princess Anne, Princess Royal ,
1360-407: A memorial. War dead are commemorated uniformly and equally, irrespective of military or civil rank, race or creed. The commission is currently responsible for the continued commemoration of 1.7 million deceased Commonwealth military service members in 153 countries. Since its inception, the commission has constructed approximately 2,500 war cemeteries and numerous memorials. The commission
1496-411: A mixture of floribunda roses and herbaceous perennials . Low-growing plants are chosen for areas immediately in front of headstones, ensuring that inscriptions are not obscured and preventing soil from splashing back during rain. In cemeteries where there are pedestal grave markers, dwarf varieties of plants are used instead. The absence of any form of paving between the headstone rows contributes to
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#17328766153811632-404: A period of months or even years. He also abolished the shilling a day deduction made from the pay of men on sick leave. He had an intense dislike of trade unions, and never took the short-lived National Union of Police and Prison Officers seriously, which partly led to the strike of 1919 . Only a small percentage of the men went out on strike, and they were all dismissed, although Macready wrote
1768-472: A process of reprisal killings for IRA attacks, which gave Macready considerable cause for concern. "the RIC are not out of hand but are systematically left to reprise their officers." In Macready's view, shooting of suspects and dumping of bodies in the Liffey represented unavoidable "reprisals" for the death of a policeman. By 28 August, Macready knew that civil war was inevitable; as a consequence he would not tell
1904-636: A record of Commonwealth civilian war deaths. A supplemental chapter was added to the Imperial War Graves Commission's charter on 7 February 1941, empowering the organisation to collect and record the names of civilians who died from enemy action during the Second World War, which resulted in the creation of the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour. The roll eventually contained the names of nearly 67,000 civilians. The Commission and
2040-467: A sense of peace in a setting, in contrast to traditionally bleak graveyards. Recommendations given by Arthur William Hill , the assistant director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew enabled the commission to develop cemetery layouts and architectural structures that took into account the placement of suitable plant life. Combining structural and horticultural elements were not unfamiliar to
2176-555: A son. Macready remained in Alexandria until early 1889, when he returned to England to rejoin his regiment , and then served in Ceylon and India . Having been promoted to lieutenant in October 1889, he was promoted to captain in 1891. He was transferred to Dublin in 1892, and in 1894 became adjutant of the regiment's 2nd Volunteer Battalion in Aberdeenshire . In December 1899, he
2312-644: A special conference on 29 December along with Wilson, Tudor and Sir John Anderson , head of the Civil Service in Dublin, at which they all advised that no truce should be allowed for elections to the planned Dublin Parliament, and that at least four months of martial law would be required to "break the Terror". The date for the elections was therefore set for May 1921. In accordance with Wilson and Macready's wishes, martial law
2448-467: A young man and an old priest, killing them both. Lloyd George was furious, calling for courts-martial and death by firing squad. But Macready stalled for time, and delayed justice, so that Harte eventually received a proper trial and was found guilty but insane . Mark Sturgis was angry because in the west, Sinn Féin was still very strong, so that the policy of shoot-to-kill was not working. On 23 December 1920, Irish Home Rule became law. Macready attended
2584-459: Is "A Soldier of the Great War known unto God ". Some headstones bear the text "believed to be buried in this cemetery" when the grave's exact location within the cemetery is not known. In some cases soldiers were buried in collective graves and distinguishing one body from another was not possible and thus one headstone covers more than one grave. The headstone does not denote any specific details of
2720-473: Is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War . The commission
2856-607: Is buried in this cemetery. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for valour on 4 October 1917 at Zonnebeke . Sergeant Colin Blythe of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry , an exceptional spin bowler who had played for Kent and England and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1904. Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission ( CWGC )
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#17328766153812992-419: Is currently responsible for the care of war dead at over 23,000 separate burial sites and the maintenance of more than 200 memorials worldwide. In addition to commemorating Commonwealth military service members, the commission maintains, under arrangement with applicable governments, over 40,000 non-Commonwealth war graves and over 25,000 non-war military and civilian graves. The commission operates through
3128-570: Is headquartered in Maidenhead , England. Offices or agencies that are each responsible for a specific geographical area manage the worldwide affairs of the organisation. They are: The CWGC's work is funded predominantly by grants from the governments of the six member states. In the fiscal year 2020/21, these grants amounted to £66.1 million of the organisation's £74.5 million of income. This equates to an approximate cost of CA$ 85 per commemorated war dead. The contribution from each country
3264-413: Is not known will contain the superscript " Buried elsewhere in this Cemetery ", "Known to be buried in this cemetery" or "Believed to be buried in this cemetery" . Many headstones are for unidentified casualties; they consequently bear only what could be discovered from the body. The epitaph, developed by Rudyard Kipling , that appears on the graves of unidentified soldiers for which no details are known
3400-461: Is proportionate to the number of graves the CWGC maintains on behalf of that country. The percentage of total annual contributions for which each country is responsible is United Kingdom 79%, Canada 10%, Australia 6%, New Zealand 2%, South Africa 2% and India 1%. Immediately following the First World War, the British Army remained responsible for the exhumation of remains. The Western Front
3536-452: The 1918 flu pandemic . The applicable periods of consideration are 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921 for the First World War and 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947 for the Second World War. The end date for the First World War period is the official end of the war, while for the Second World War the Commission selected a date approximately the same period after VE Day as the official end of
3672-505: The 2nd Infantry Brigade at Aldershot . In June 1910 he returned to the War Office as director of personal services, responsible for a variety of personnel matters. Also having responsibility for military aid to the civil power, he played a large part in a series of labour disputes and in deploying troops to Ireland in anticipation of disturbances there. Unusually for an army officer of the time, he had marked liberal tendencies, believed in
3808-732: The Beaumont-Hamel Memorial by Newfoundland. The programme of commemorating the dead of the Great War was considered essentially complete with the inauguration of the Thiepval Memorial in 1932, though the Vimy Memorial would not be finished until 1936, the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial until 1938 and stonemasons were still conducting work on the Menin Gate when Germany invaded Belgium in 1940. The only memorial created by
3944-575: The Dean of Westminster reached an agreement that the roll would eventually be placed in Westminster Abbey but not until the roll was complete and hostilities had ended. The Commission handed over the first six volumes to the Dean of Westminster on 21 February 1956; it added the final volume to the showcase in 1958. Following the Second World War, the Commission recognised that the word 'Imperial' within its name
4080-683: The Gaza cemetery , which contains 3,691 graves, allegedly in retaliation for the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. On 24 February 2012, during the Libyan Civil War , Islamist militia damaged over 200 headstones in the Benghazi war cemetery, as well as the central memorial. In April 2021, a special committee of the CWGC published a report on historical inequalities in commemoration, concerning "failures to properly commemorate black and Asian troops" after
4216-1003: The Thiepval Memorial on the Somme and the Arras Memorial designed by Edwin Lutyens; and the Basra Memorial in Iraq designed by Edward Prioleau Warren . The Dominions and India also erected memorials on which they commemorated their missing: the Neuve-Chapelle Memorial for the forces of India, the Vimy Memorial by Canada, the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial by Australia, the Delville Wood Memorial by South Africa and
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4352-612: The 1926 General Strike , when he served as a staff officer to the Chief Commandant of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary . He died at his home in Knightsbridge , London, in 1946, aged 83. His son, Lieutenant-General Sir Gordon Macready (1891–1956), was also a distinguished soldier and inherited the baronetcy on his father's death. His character appears very briefly in the film Michael Collins (1996); he
4488-659: The 1980s, with regular maintenance being impractical since after the Gulf War . The commission also provides support for war graves outside its traditional mandate. In 1982, the British Ministry of Defence requested the commission's assistance to design and construct cemeteries in the Falkland Islands for those killed during the Falklands War . Although these cemeteries are not Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries,
4624-541: The American Graves Registration Service . In 1918, three of the most eminent architects of their day, Sir Herbert Baker , Sir Reginald Blomfield , and Sir Edwin Lutyens were appointed as the organization's initial Principal Architects. Rudyard Kipling was appointed literary advisor for the language used for memorial inscriptions. In 1920, the Commission built three experimental cemeteries at Le Treport , Forceville and Louvencourt , following
4760-501: The American Graves Registration were permitted to repatriate the remains of an unknown number of American citizens who were in service of a Commonwealth nation during the Second World War. In 1949, the Commission completed Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery , the first of 559 new cemeteries and 36 new memorials. Eventually, the Commission erected over 350,000 new headstones, many from Hopton Wood stone . The wider scale of
4896-566: The Army. Macready, commander-in-chief, was in disagreement; Macready argued that escalation of violence would only unite the two factions of IRA and alienate the moderates. Britain pressurised Dublin to arm the National Army of Ireland ( Free State Army ) with British guns, giving an ultimatum for the rebels to leave on 28 June. In the event it was agreed with Richard Mulcahy that they should receive two 18-pounder field guns. These were used to pound
5032-786: The Boers. He was mentioned in dispatches twice and promoted to the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1900, and in June 1901 headed a commission investigating cattle-raiding in Zululand . He stayed in South Africa in a series of staff posts, including assistant provost marshal at Port Elizabeth (1901), deputy assistant adjutant-general (DAAG) of the district west of Johannesburg (December 1901–1902), assistant adjutant general (AAG) and chief staff officer of Cape Colony (1902–1905), and assistant quartermaster-general (AQMG) of Cape Colony (1905–1906). He
5168-758: The Cabinet, which Macready chaired, opposed the recruitment of the Black and Tans and Auxiliary Division , and he continued to be a strident critic of these bodies. The government pressed ahead with recruiting auxiliaries, whose numbers would eventually peak at 1,500 in July 1921. Macready had been initially impressed by Tudor and thought he was getting rid of "incompetent idiots" from senior police positions. According to Tudor's Weekly Summary Joseph Byrne and Macready were concerned about frequently drunk on duty policemen. Macready and Wilson became increasingly concerned that Tudor, with
5304-527: The Care of Soldiers' Graves was created with the intention of taking over the work of the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries after the war. The government felt that it was more appropriate to entrust the work to a specially appointed body rather than to any existing government department. By early 1917, a number of members of the committee believed a formal imperial organisation would be needed to care for
5440-504: The Commission are no exception. The Commission believes that graffiti and damage to stonework are usually the work of young people, noting that the number of incidents increases when schoolchildren are on school holidays. Metal theft is also a problem: determined thieves target the bronze swords from the Cross of Sacrifice, which are now replaced with replicas made of fibreglass. The vandalism of Commission cemeteries has also been connected to
5576-589: The Commission manages the administrative responsibilities for them. Since 2005, the commission has carried out similar management duties on behalf of the British Ministry of Defence for cemeteries and graves of British and Imperial soldiers who died during the Second Boer War . In 2003, Veterans Affairs Canada employed the commission to develop an approach to locate grave markers for which the Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs has responsibility. As of 2011,
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5712-594: The Commission that was not in the form of a monument or cemetery was the Memorial Ophthalmic Laboratory at Giza , Egypt —complete with library, and bacteriology and pathology departments—as its memorial to men of the Egyptian Labour Corps and Camel Transport Corps . Its erection was agreed with local political pressure. From the start of the Second World War in 1939, the Commission organised grave registration units and, planning ahead based on
5848-482: The Cross of Sacrifice, the design for the stone deliberately avoided "shapes associated with particular religions". The geometry of the structure was based on studies of the Parthenon . Each stone is 12 feet (3.5 m) long and 5 feet (1.5 m) high. The shape of the stone has been compared both to that of a sarcophagus and an altar . The feature was designed using the principle of entasis . The subtle curves in
5984-499: The Fallen . The illustrated booklet was intended to soften the impact of Kenyon's report as it included illustrations of cemeteries with mature trees and shrubs; contrasting the bleak landscapes depicted in published battlefield photos. There was an immediate public outcry following the publication of the reports, particularly with regards to the decision to not repatriate the bodies of the dead. The reports generated considerable discussion in
6120-667: The First World War was after the 1918 Armistice. Civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War are commemorated differently from those that died as a result of military service. They are commemorated by name through the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour located in St George's Chapel in Westminster Abbey. In addition to its mandated duties, the commission maintains, under arrangement with applicable governments, over 40,000 non-Commonwealth war graves and over 25,000 non-war military and civilian graves. As well as
6256-421: The First World War, individual commemoration of war dead was often on an ad hoc basis and was almost exclusively limited to commissioned officers. However, the war required mobilisation of a significant percentage of the population, either as volunteers or through conscription . An expectation had consequently arisen that individual soldiers would expect to be commemorated, even if they were low-ranking members of
6392-580: The First World War. A set of public statements by CWGC and the Special Committee on the issue and the next steps to be taken were published on the CWGC website, and the defence secretary Ben Wallace made an official apology in the House of Commons. Nevil Macready General Sir Cecil Frederick Nevil Macready, 1st Baronet , GCMG , KCB , PC (Ire) (7 May 1862 – 9 January 1946), known affectionately as Make-Ready (close to
6528-775: The Four Courts garrison into surrender but they missed; the officers were so inexperienced that Emmet Dalton , the Chief of Staff required artillery training from Macready's men. Macready retired on 1 March 1923 and was created a baronet . He had been sworn of the Privy Council of Ireland in 1920. In 1924, he published his two-volume memoirs, Annals of an Active Life . Macready destroyed his own diaries and private papers after completing his memoirs, but 400 letters between Wilson and Macready survive, only ten of which predate his Irish appointment. He briefly returned to police service during
6664-454: The Great War. The two were quickly captured and hanged. The murder precipitated a policy of "Official Reprisals", sparked by Rory O'Connor 's anti-Treaty IRA occupation of the Four Courts, home of the Provisional Government's ministry. From 22 June 1922 there were six Cabinet meetings in 72 hours. They concluded that the Four Courts was a centre of "seditious activity". On 24 June the Cabinet ordered an assault for 25 June, to be carried out by
6800-708: The Red Cross for this purpose. In March 1915, with the support of Nevil Macready , Adjutant-General of the British Expeditionary Force , Ware's work was given official recognition and support by the Imperial War Office and the unit was transferred to the British Army as the Graves Registration Commission. The new Graves Registration Commission had over 31,000 graves of British and Imperial soldiers registered by October 1915 and 50,000 registered by May 1916. When municipal graveyards began to overfill Ware began negotiations with various local authorities to acquire land for further cemeteries. Ware began with an agreement with France to build joint British and French cemeteries under
6936-456: The Republic of South Africa to the United Kingdom, Jeremiah Nyamane Mamabolo; the High Commissioner for India to the United Kingdom, Vikram Doraiswami ; the High Commissioner for Canada to the United Kingdom, Ralph E. Goodale ; Keryn James; Sir Tim Hitchens; Vice Admiral Peter Hudson ; Hon Philip Dunne; Dame Diana Johnson ; Vasuki Shastry; Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas ; Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst ; Air Marshal Sir Stuart Atha . The CWGC
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#17328766153817072-421: The Roll of Honour maintained at Westminster Abbey. The majority of the casualties commemorated on the Brookwood 1914–1918 Memorial are servicemen and women identified by the In From The Cold Project as having died while in care of their families and were not commemorated by the Commission at the time. Cemeteries, including those of war dead, are targets for vandalism. The gravestones, cemeteries and buildings of
7208-541: The Second World War and until the German reunification because it was located in an area occupied by Russian forces and was not entirely rebuilt until 2005. The Six-Day War and War of Attrition resulted in the destruction of Port Tewfik Memorial and Aden Memorial, and the death of a Commission gardener at Suez War Memorial Cemetery. During the Lebanese Civil War two cemeteries in Beirut were destroyed and had to be rebuilt. The maintenance of war graves and memorials in Iraq has remained difficult since Iran–Iraq War in
7344-430: The Second World War, coupled with manpower shortages and unrest in some countries, meant that the construction and restoration programmes took much longer. In Albania the graves of 52 of the 54 graves of British SOE personnel had been reburied in Tirana before Major McIntosh from the CWGC Florence base was expelled by the new regime. Three-quarters of the original graves had been in "difficult" or remote locations. Following
7480-456: The Second World War. Commonwealth military service members are commemorated by name on either a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on a memorial. As a result, the commission is currently responsible for the care of war dead at over 23,000 separate burial sites and maintenance of more than 200 memorials worldwide. The vast majority of burial sites are pre-existing communal or municipal cemeteries and parish churchyards located in
7616-455: The Truce rendered the matter academic. Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty and creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, he withdrew the troops without great incident before the onset of the Irish Civil War . It has been suggested that Collins had a hand in the assassination of Sir Henry Wilson . This has never been confirmed. Wilson was shot dead at the doorstep of his London home by two Irishmen, former British Army soldiers who had served in
7752-598: The United Kingdom, however the commission has itself constructed approximately 2,500 war cemeteries worldwide. The commission has also constructed or commissioned memorials to commemorate the dead who have no known grave; the largest of these is the Thiepval Memorial . The Commission only commemorates those who have died during the designated war years, while in Commonwealth military service or of causes attributable to service. Death in service included not only those killed in combat but other causes such as those that died in training accidents, air raids and due to disease such as
7888-404: The Victoria Cross or George Cross emblem. Sometimes a soldier employed a pseudonym because he was too young to serve or was sought by law enforcement; in such cases his primary name is shown along with the notation " served as" . Some American citizens who served with Commonwealth forces during the Second World War have the notation "Of U.S.A." . Those whose exact burial location within a cemetery
8024-426: The cemetery entrance or in a shelter within the cemetery. More recently, in larger sites, a stainless steel notice gives details of the respective military campaign. The headstones within the cemetery are of a uniform size and design and mark plots of equal size. The cemetery grounds are, except in drier climates, grass-covered with a floral border around the headstones. There is also an absence of any paving between
8160-411: The chairman is the United Kingdom's secretary of State for Defence , John Healey MP , and the vice chairman is Vice Admiral Peter Hudson CB CBE . Claire Horton was appointed Director-General of the CWGC in 2020 The members are: the High Commissioner for New Zealand to the United Kingdom, Phil Goff ; the High Commissioner of Australia to the United Kingdom, Stephen Smith ; the High Commissioner of
8296-455: The commission conducts a twelve-year cyclical inspection programme of Canadian veterans' markers installed at the expense of the Government of Canada . In 2008, an exploratory excavation discovered mass graves on the edge of Pheasant Wood outside of Fromelles . Two-hundred and fifty British and Australian bodies were excavated from five mass graves which were interred in the newly constructed Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery . This
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#17328766153818432-445: The commission to carry out its work assured of support for its principles. The 1920 United States Public Law 66-175 ensured American citizens who were killed while in service of a Commonwealth nation were eligible for burial in national cemeteries in the United States However, the commission made no repatriation policy exception for American citizens and attempts to retrieve loved ones from Commonwealth cemeteries were not supported by
8568-520: The commission's architects. Sir Edwin Lutyens furthered his long-standing working relationship with horticulturist Gertrude Jekyll , whose devotion to traditional cottage garden plants and roses greatly influenced the appearance of the cemeteries. Where possible, indigenous plants were utilised to enhance sentimental associations with the gardens of home. Variety in texture, height and timing of floral display were equally important horticultural considerations. The beds around each headstone are planted with
8704-441: The commission, or won competitions for the Commission memorials, included George Salway Nicol, Harold Chalton Bradshaw , Verner Owen Rees, Gordon H. Holt, and Henry Philip Cart de Lafontaine. In January 1944, Edward Maufe was appointed Principal Architect for the UK. Maufe worked extensively for the commission for 25 years until 1969, becoming Chief Architect and also succeeding Kenyon as Artistic Advisor. Together with Maufe,
8840-465: The commission, with the support of the Red Cross, began to dispatch photographic prints and cemetery location information in answer to the requests. The Graves Registration Commission became the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries in the spring of 1916 in recognition of the fact that the scope of work began to extend beyond simple grave registration and began to include responding to enquiries from relatives of those killed. The directorate's work
8976-505: The condition that cemeteries respected certain dimensions, were accessible by public road, were in the vicinity of medical aid stations and were not too close to towns or villages. Similar negotiations began with the Belgian government. As reports of the grave registration work became public, the commission began to receive letters of enquiry and requests for photographs of graves from relatives of deceased soldiers. By 1917, 17,000 photographs had been dispatched to relatives. In March 1915,
9112-470: The connivance of Lloyd George , who loved to drop hints to that effect, was operating an unofficial policy of killing IRA men in reprisal for the deaths of pro-Crown forces. However, Macready also told Wilson that the Army was arranging "accidents" for suspected IRA men, but did not tell the politicians as he did not want them "talked and joked about after dinner by Cabinet Ministers". Commenting on official reprisals, Macready stated that such actions "must have
9248-435: The continued financial support of the member states: United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. The current and first ever Patron of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is King Charles III . The current president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is Anne, Princess Royal . At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Fabian Ware , a director of the Rio Tinto Company , found that he
9384-422: The correct pronunciation of his name), was a British Army officer. He served in senior staff appointments in the First World War and was the last British military commander in Ireland, and also served for two years as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in London. Macready was the son of the prominent actor William Charles Macready . His father was 69 years old at Nevil's birth. His paternal grandfather
9520-568: The death except for its date, and even then only if it is known, and are deliberately ambiguous about the cause of death. Due to local conditions it was sometimes necessary for the commission to deviate from its standard design. In places prone to extreme weather or earthquakes, such as Thailand and Turkey, stone-faced pedestal markers are used instead of the normal headstones. These measures are intended to prevent masonry being damaged during earthquakes or sinking into sodden ground. In Italy, headstones were carved from Chiampo Perla limestone because it
9656-399: The deployment of two extra divisions to Iraq , and the threatened coal strike in September 1920, Macready warned that the planned withdrawal of ten battalions would make peacekeeping in Ireland impossible (unless the Army was given a free hand to conduct purely military operations, which the politicians did not want) and large portions of the RIC would probably change sides. Macready opposed
9792-585: The design, if extended, would form a sphere 1,801 feet 8 inches (549.15 m) in diameter. Every grave is marked with a headstone . Each headstone contains the national emblem or regimental badge, rank, name, unit, date of death and age of each casualty inscribed above an appropriate religious symbol and a more personal dedication chosen by relatives. The headstones use a standard upper case lettering, Headstone Standard Alphabet, designed by MacDonald Gill . Individual graves are arranged, where possible, in straight rows and marked by uniform headstones,
9928-425: The end of 1919, the commission had spent £7,500, and this figure rose to £250,000 in 1920 as construction of cemeteries and memorials increased. By 1921, the commission had established 1,000 cemeteries which were ready for headstone erections, and burials. Between 1920 and 1923, the commission was shipping 4,000 headstones a week to France. In many cases, the Commission closed small cemeteries and concentrated
10064-435: The end of the First World War. Once land for cemeteries and memorials had been guaranteed, the enormous task of recording the details of the dead could begin. By 1918, some 587,000 graves had been identified and a further 559,000 casualties were registered as having no known grave. The scale, and associated high number of casualties, of the war produced an entirely new attitude towards the commemoration of war dead. Previous to
10200-487: The end of the year, but the total exceeded this. The BEF suffered an alarming rise in drunkenness, desertions and psychological disorders; reports were gathered of soldiers returning from the front grumbling about "the waste of life" at Ypres. In September 1918 Macready was promoted full general and appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). He had been mentioned in despatches four times during
10336-514: The experience gained from the First World War, earmarked land for use as cemeteries. When the war began turning in favour of the Allies, the commission was able to begin restoring its First World War cemeteries and memorials. It also began the task of commemorating the 600,000 Commonwealth casualties from the Second World War. As with the First World War, casualties were commemorated with uniform memorials and bodies should not be repatriated. Exceptionally,
10472-540: The first half of 1921, with deaths of pro-Crown forces running at approximately double the rate of those in the second half of 1920 but with the IRA running desperately short of funds and ammunition and later described by one of its leaders Michael Collins as "dead beat" and within "six weeks of defeat". Macready backed a policy of "deterrent effects" against the IRA; houses were ordered to be destroyed, tenants evicted to remove those who shot at patrols. The British were slowly getting
10608-713: The formation of the Ulster Special Constabulary , announced by London on 20 October. The Specials were subsumed totally by Protestants clubs, such as the Cromwell Clubs. Dublin Castle wrote to Bonar Law , the Conservative Party leader, urging that the coalition government ban any recruitment from the Ulster Volunteer Force , an unreliable gang of paramilitaries. A military committee of review appointed by
10744-466: The graves into larger ones. By 1927, when the majority of construction had been completed, over 500 cemeteries had been built, with 400,000 headstones, a thousand Crosses of Sacrifice, and 400 Stones of Remembrance. The commission had also been mandated to individually commemorate each soldier who had no known grave, which amounted to 315,000 in France and Belgium alone. The Commission initially decided to build 12 monuments on which to commemorate
10880-593: The graves. With the help of Edward, Prince of Wales , Ware submitted a memorandum to the Imperial War Conference in 1917 suggesting that an imperial organisation be constituted. The suggestion was accepted and on 21 May 1917 the Imperial War Graves Commission was established by Royal Charter, with the Prince of Wales serving as president, Secretary of State for War Lord Derby as chairman and Ware as vice-chairman. The commission's undertakings began in earnest at
11016-455: The headstone rows which is intended to make the cemetery feel like a traditional walled garden where visitors could experience a sense of peace. However, Carter and Jackson argue that the uniform aesthetics are designed to evoke a positive experience which deliberately masks and sanitises the nature of the war deaths. Typically, cemeteries of more than 40 graves contain a Cross of Sacrifice designed by architect Reginald Blomfield . This cross
11152-404: The inter-war period and after the Second World War, included William Reid Dick , Ernest Gillick , Basil Gotto , Alfred Turner , Laurence A. Turner , Walter Gilbert , Henry Poole , Vernon Hill , Robert Anning Bell , Ferdinand Victor Blundstone , Joseph Armitage, and Gilbert Bayes . Structural design has always played an important part in the commission's cemeteries. Apart from
11288-520: The main Principal Architects for France and Belgium (Baker, Blomfield and Lutyens), there were Principal Architects appointed for other regions as well. Sir Robert Lorimer was Principal Architect for Italy, Macedonia and Egypt, while Sir John James Burnet was Principal Architect for Palestine and Gallipoli, assisted by Thomas Smith Tait . The Principal Architect for Mesopotamia was Edward Prioleau Warren. As well as these senior architects, there
11424-595: The majority of the dead and the sword represents the military character of the cemetery, intended to link British soldiers and the Christian concept of self-sacrifice. Cemeteries with more than 1000 burials typically have a Stone of Remembrance , designed by Edwin Lutyens with the inscription " Their name liveth for evermore " . The concept of the Stone of Remembrance stone was developed by Rudyard Kipling to commemorate those of all faiths and none respectively. In contrast to
11560-526: The military. A committee under Frederic Kenyon , Director of the British Museum , presented a report to the Commission in November 1918 detailing how it envisioned the development of the cemeteries. Two key elements of this report were that bodies should not be repatriated and that uniform memorials should be used to avoid class distinctions. Beyond the logistical nightmare of returning home so many corpses, it
11696-526: The missing; each memorial being located at the site of an important battle along the Western Front. After resistance from the French committee responsible for the approvals of memorials on French territory, the Commission revised their plan and reduced the number of memorials, and in some cases built memorials to the missing in existing cemeteries rather than as separate structures. Reginald Blomfield's Menin Gate
11832-456: The other Principal Architects appointed during and after the Second World War were Hubert Worthington , Louis de Soissons , Philip Hepworth and Colin St Clair Oakes . Leading sculptors that worked on the memorials and cemeteries after the First World War included Eric Henri Kennington , Charles Thomas Wheeler , Gilbert Ledward , and Charles Sargeant Jagger . Other sculptors, both in
11968-578: The participation of Commonwealth countries in contemporary conflicts. In the 1970s, during the Troubles , Commission cemeteries in Ireland experienced vandalism. Vandals defaced the central memorial of the Étaples Military Cemetery in northern France with anti-British and anti-American graffiti on 20 March 2003 immediately after the beginning of the Iraq War . On 9 May 2004, thirty-three headstones were demolished in
12104-540: The police and Army. Major-General Hugh Tudor , a distinguished artilleryman, was appointed Police Advisor in May 1920, then Chief of Police in November 1920. A month after taking up official duties, Macready came to London to demand eight extra battalions of infantry and 234 motor vehicles. Sir Henry Wilson only learned of the request the evening before the Cabinet meeting and thought Macready "a vain ass" for not seeking his advice first. The cabinet agreed on 11 May 1920 to supply
12240-651: The police and to the Home Office and not answerable to the panicking local magistrates . This policy probably helped to avert serious unrest in 1910 and again in a similar situation in 1912. A civil CB was added to his military CB in 1911 and, in 1912 he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB). After the Curragh incident in Ireland in March 1914, Macready was made general officer commanding (GOC) Belfast District and
12376-436: The press which ultimately led to a heated debate in Parliament on 4 May 1920. Sir James Remnant started the debate, followed by speeches by William Burdett-Coutts in favour of the commission's principles and Robert Cecil speaking for those desiring repatriation and opposing uniformity of grave markers. Winston Churchill closed the debate and asked that the issue not proceed to a vote. Remnant withdrew his motion, allowing
12512-531: The principles outlined in the Kenyon report. Of these, the Forceville Communal Cemetery and Extension was agreed to be the most successful. Having consulted with garden designer Gertrude Jekyll , the architects created a walled cemetery with uniform headstones in a garden setting, augmented by Blomfield's Cross of Sacrifice and Lutyens' Stone of Remembrance . After some adjustments, Forceville became
12648-655: The public periodically results in the identification of previously buried casualties. The archival records of the commission are open to the public to permit individuals to conduct their own research. In December 2013, it was discovered that Second Lieutenant Philip Frederick Cormack, who was previously commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial, had in fact been buried in a French military cemetery in Machelen , East Flanders in Belgium. Sergeant Leonard Maidment
12784-523: The remains of a Commonwealth soldier from the First or Second World War is discovered the commission is notified, and a Commission burial officer tries to collect any associated artefacts that may help identify the individual. The details are then registered and archived at the commission's headquarters. Evidence used for identification purposes may include artifacts found with the remains, anthropological data and DNA. Investigation of archival records by members of
12920-552: The right to strike , and supported Irish home rule . He was contemptuous of politics, socialism , communism , pacifism and capitalism (unless the employers treated their employees very well). He was promoted major-general in October, and in November he took direct command of troops deployed to deal with a possible miners' strike, in the Rhondda Valley in South Wales , insisting that his troops remained subordinate both to
13056-558: The simplicity of the cemetery designs. Lawn paths add to the garden ambience and are irrigated during the dry season in countries where there is insufficient rain. Where irrigation is inappropriate or impractical, dry landscaping is an ecological alternative favoured by the commission's horticulturists, as is the case in Iraq. Drier areas require a different approach not only for lawns but also to plants and styles of planting. Similarly, there are separate horticultural considerations in tropical climates. When many cemeteries are concentrated within
13192-452: The template for the commission's building programme. Cost overruns at all three experimental cemeteries necessitated some adjustments. To ensure future cemeteries remained within their budget the Commission decided to not build shelters in cemeteries that contained less than 200 graves, to not place a Stone of Remembrance in any cemetery with less than 400 graves, and to limit the height of cemetery walls to 1 metre (3.3 ft). At
13328-444: The three years following the conclusion of the general search 38,000 bodies were discovered. In the mid-1920s, 20 to 30 bodies were being discovered weekly. The discovery of remains of First and Second World War casualties remains a common occurrence, with approximately 30 bodies discovered annually. For example, in 2006 eight bodies of Canadian soldiers from the 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers), CEF were discovered in
13464-411: The time, although largely stripped of executive power in the spring of 1920) made him accept. Macready and Greenwood insisted on restoring proper authority, which was lax and enfeebled. Macready was experienced at crisis management. He demanded a higher pension than his predecessor and an increase in "table money" (entertainment expenses) from £500 to £1,400 as well as £5,000 "disturbance allowance". He
13600-479: The understanding that these would be maintained by the French government. Ware eventually concluded that it was not prudent to leave the maintenance responsibilities solely to the French government and subsequently arranged for France to purchase the land (under the law of 29 December 1915 ), grant it in perpetuity, and leave the management and maintenance responsibilities to the British. The French government agreed under
13736-409: The upper hand. In April 1921, the cabinet decided to withdraw four of Macready's 51 battalions to meet the possible Triple Alliance strike. Macready believed Ireland could be suppressed in the summer of 1921 with the elections out of the way, not least as troops would otherwise need to be replaced after the strain of guerrilla war. In May 1921, Lloyd George announced a surge of manpower; but Macready
13872-413: The vast majority of which are made of Portland stone . The original headstone dimensions were 30 inches (76 cm) tall, 15 in (38 cm) wide, and 3 in (7.6 cm) thick. Most headstones are inscribed with a cross, except for those deceased known to be atheist or non-Christian. In the case of burials of Victoria Cross or George Cross recipients, the regimental badge is supplemented by
14008-455: The vehicles and as far as possible the extra technical personnel requested, but on Wilson's advice agreed only to hold the extra battalions "in readiness". In July an argument with Catholic Archbishop Gilmartin, led him to exclaim that men could not be tried in Tuam , because nobody was willing to come forward for Jury service, "the people at least indifferent". With the army stretched very thinly by
14144-586: The victims of the Lismore bombings not to resist. He was worried that release of political prisoners would anger the police; hanging became a matter of credibility. He rejected calls to spare the life of a young medical student, Kevin Barry , caught red-handed in the murders of several soldiers as young or younger than Barry was, in Dublin. Macready recruited Major Ormonde Winter , an intelligence expert, as head of police detectives, to train sergeants to build networks; but it
14280-793: The war, been made a Grand Officier of the Légion d'honneur of France (1915), and a member of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, the Order of the Crown of Italy, and the Order of the Sacred Treasures of Japan. In August 1918, Macready somewhat reluctantly took the post of Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, head of the London Metropolitan Police , to which Prime Minister Asquith had intended to appoint him before war broke out in 1914. Morale
14416-408: The war, the Commission implemented a five-year horticultural renovation programme which addressed neglect by 1950. Structural repairs, together with the backlog of maintenance tasks from before the war, took a further ten years to complete. With the increased number of civilian casualties compared with the First World War, Winston Churchill agreed to Ware's proposal that the commission also maintain
14552-533: The war. The cemetery, named after the nickname of a nearby road behind the trenches, was established as two cemeteries. The first was laid down in August 1917. The second, nearby, was begun in 1917. After the armistice , battlefield graves were consolidated between the two, creating one enlarged cemetery. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield . South African -born Captain Clement Robertson VC
14688-504: Was William Macready the Elder (1755–1829), a famous Irish actor from Dublin . He was born in Cheltenham in May 1862 and was brought up in the bohemian circles frequented by his parents (his mother, Cecile, was the granddaughter of the painter, Sir William Beechey ), and was educated at Marlborough College (for two years, before falling ill) and Cheltenham College . He later claimed that he
14824-544: Was a team of Assistant Architects who were actually responsible for many of the cemetery and memorial designs. These architects were younger, and many of them had served in the war. The Assistant Architects were: George Esselmont Gordon Leith, Wilfred Clement Von Berg , Charles Henry Holden (who in 1920 became a Principal Architect), William Harrison Cowlishaw , William Bryce Binnie , George Hartley Goldsmith, Frank Higginson, Arthur James Scott Hutton, Noel Ackroyd Rew, and John Reginald Truelove. Other architects that worked for
14960-467: Was abandoned on 3 June 1921. Macready had no answer to the attacks on soft Unionist targets. Macready was instrumental in negotiating the truce in July 1921 , although he suggested, perhaps in jest, that the entire Irish Dáil could be arrested whilst in session. He suffered the irritation of being found in contempt of court for refusing to obey an order of habeas corpus in the Joseph Egan case; but
15096-507: Was adamant that military jurisdiction in the Martial Law Area (MLA) trumped the civil courts. In a number of civil rights cases King's Bench writs were issued to reclaim bodies and damages. But Macready dismissed the conflict in actions, as an "anomaly". As the violence escalated he had suspended civilian jurisdictions by Proclamation in April. The Irish War of Independence reached a climax in
15232-584: Was also extended beyond the Western Front and into other theatres of war, with units deployed in Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia. As the war continued, Ware and others became concerned about the fate of the graves in the post-war period. Following a suggestion by the British Army, the government appointed the National Committee for the Care of Soldiers' Graves in January 1916, with Edward, Prince of Wales agreeing to serve as president. The National Committee for
15368-495: Was concerned about low morale, and lack of specific training. An extra seventeen battalions were sent in June and July, bringing British strength up to 60,000, but the politicians drew back from the brink and opened secret talks with James Craig and Éamon de Valera (who had been born in New York of Spanish descent and whom Macready called Wilson's "Cuban Jew compatriot"). The policy of Official Reprisals proved counter-productive and
15504-505: Was designed to imitate medieval crosses found in churchyards in England with proportions more commonly seen in the Celtic cross . The cross is normally a freestanding four-point limestone Latin cross , mounted on an octagonal base, and ranging in height from 14 to 32 feet (4.3 to 9.8 m). A bronze longsword , blade down, is embedded on the face of the cross. This cross represents the faith of
15640-531: Was divided into sectors and combed for bodies by 12-man exhumation units. Between the Armistice and September 1921, the exhumation units reburied 204,695 bodies. After 1921, no further comprehensive search for bodies was undertaken, and in February 1921 responsibility for the cemeteries was transferred to the commission. Nevertheless, despite the rigour of the searches, bodies continued to be discovered in large numbers. In
15776-479: Was extended over the rest of Munster (Counties Waterford and Clare ) and part of Leinster (Counties Kilkenny and Wexford ). Macready felt under a great deal of pressure. The officer class were not prepared and contemptuous of the enemy's intelligence network; they did not take the need to adapt to gathering seriously. By 1921, Macready had lost confidence in Tudor and thought the RIC had become unreliable. Macready
15912-529: Was far too lazy to pursue an artistic career himself, and although he expressed an interest in a stage career, his father, who loathed his own profession, expressly forbade it (although he continued to be involved in amateur dramatics all his life and was also a talented singer). He therefore joined the British Army , passing out from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst , and being commissioned as
16048-487: Was felt that repatriation would conflict with the feeling of brotherhood that had developed between serving ranks. An article in The Times on 17 February 1919 by Rudyard Kipling carried the commission's proposal to a wider audience and described what the graves would look like. The article entitled War Graves: Work of Imperial Commission: Mr. Kipling's Survey was quickly republished as an illustrated booklet, Graves of
16184-483: Was founded by Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through royal charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission . The change to the present name took place in 1960. The commission, as part of its mandate, is responsible for commemorating all Commonwealth war dead individually and equally. To this end, the war dead are commemorated by a name on a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on
16320-546: Was identified in 2013 after a visitor to Marfaux British Cemetery discovered a headstone of an unknown sergeant with the Hampshire Regiment killed on 20 July 1918, and was subsequently able to show that only one sergeant from that regiment had been killed in France on that date. As of July 2022, the In From The Cold Project has so far identified 7,255 individuals with either unmarked graves or names missing from
16456-430: Was in more plentiful supply. In Struma Military Cemetery, in Greece, to avoid risk of earthquake damage, small headstones are laid flush to the ground. Due to their smaller size, the markers often lack unit insignia. Commission cemeteries are distinctive in treating floriculture as an integral part of the cemetery design. Originally, the horticultural concept was to create an environment where visitors could experience
16592-407: Was low, and many men were currently on strike over pay and trade union recognition. Macready got them back to work by granting a pay rise and promising the introduction of machinery for collective bargaining . He was popular among the constables and sergeants , whom he got to know far more than his predecessors had done. He abolished the system of punishment by deducting fines from men's pay over
16728-630: Was no cause for concern in Nationalist Ireland: "I do not believe leaders mean insurrection," wrote Sir Matthew Nathan, "or that the Volunteers have sufficient arms to make it formidable if the leaders do mean it." The British underestimated the intent of the Irish leaders. Macready advised General Maxwell (whose courts-martial condemned the leaders of the Easter Rising to death) not to delay, and not to be afraid of overstepping authority. He
16864-458: Was no longer appropriate. In the spirit of strengthening national and regional feelings the organization changed its name to Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 1960. More recent conflicts have sometimes made it impossible for the commission to care for cemeteries in a given region or resulted in the destruction of sites altogether. Zehrensdorf Indian Cemetery in Germany was unkempt after the end of
17000-544: Was nominated as military governor-designate of Belfast in the event of civil war breaking out , something averted by the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. On the outbreak of war in August 1914, Macready was immediately sent to France as Adjutant-General of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). In 1915, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG). In February 1916, having carried out this job efficiently, he
17136-487: Was probably too slow a decision, and too little too late to win the war. The Barry case was thoroughly investigated at Macroom Station by Lt Crake of C company, of whom Macready thought well. Macready came to support martial law as he was worried that army and police discipline might otherwise collapse. "They are hopelessly out of date", he warned "We are sitting on a volcano . If they were turned into an unarmed police force they would fulfill their functions in time of peace
17272-452: Was promoted lieutenant-general in June 1916 (although he was already temporarily in that rank). Macready was an enthusiastic proponent of the employment of female labour to free men to go to the front. He also abolished the compulsory wearing of moustaches by British soldiers, and immediately shaved off his own, which he had hated. On 8th October, 1916, the order allowing all ranks to grow or not to grow moustaches according to their fancy
17408-490: Was promoted major and returned to India to join the 2nd Battalion, which was sent to South Africa in September. Macready saw active service in the Second Boer War , serving in the besieged garrison at Ladysmith from October 1899 to February 1900. As a captain, returning from bringing in wounded, he first met Major-General John French on the battlefield of Elandslaagte , giving him a cup of coffee which he had looted from
17544-740: Was promoted to colonel in November 1903. He was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1906 and returned to Britain in October of that year. In March 1907, Macready was appointed assistant adjutant general in the directorate of personal services at the War Office in London, taking over from Colonel Colin Mackenzie , and helped to form the Territorial Force (TF). He was then promoted to temporary brigadier general in August 1909 and succeeded Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baron Rawlinson in command of
17680-465: Was recalled to London as Adjutant-General to the Forces , one of the most senior staff appointments in the British Army. In December 1915, Macready was warned by Special Branch of the impending violence and (Irish Nationalist) volunteer recruitment in Ireland, and from March 1916 was receiving warnings from daily police reports. At the War Office, civil servants as late as 10 April 1916, still believed there
17816-514: Was sent to command the troops in Ireland as General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) British forces operating in the counter-insurgency role against the Irish Republican Army in the Irish War of Independence (alongside Hamar Greenwood as the new Chief Secretary ). He later stated in his memoirs that only loyalty to his "old Chief" Lord French (still Lord Lieutenant of Ireland at
17952-454: Was signed... I dropped into a barber's shop and set the example that evening, as I was only too glad to be rid of the unsightly bristles to which I had for many years been condemned by obedience to regulations. During the final stages of the Battle of Passchendaele , Macready warned (4 October 1917) that the BEF could be kept up to strength if it suffered no more than a further 50,000 casualties before
18088-633: Was the first memorial to the missing located in Europe to be completed, and was unveiled on 24 July 1927. The Menin Gate (Menenpoort) was found to have insufficient space to contain all the names as originally planned and 34,984 names of the missing were instead inscribed on Herbert Baker's Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing . Other memorials followed: the Helles Memorial in Gallipoli designed by John James Burnet ;
18224-404: Was the first new Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in more than 50 years, the last such cemeteries having been built after the Second World War. The commission is currently responsible for the continued commemoration of 1.7 million deceased Commonwealth military service members in 153 countries and approximately 67,000 civilians who died as a result of enemy action during
18360-479: Was too old, at age 45, to join the British Army. He used the influence of Rio Tinto chairman, Viscount Milner , to become the commander of a mobile unit of the British Red Cross . He arrived in France in September 1914 and whilst there was struck by the lack of any official mechanism for documenting or marking the location of graves of those who had been killed and felt compelled to create an organisation within
18496-480: Was unimpressed by the administrative chaos in Dublin and the "crass stupidity which is so often found among police officers who have not been carefully selected". Nevertheless, he was a good and dynamic commander, increasing morale, improving policy and securing additional troops and equipment. He refused to also take command of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC), however, which reduced coordination between
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