IN THE centenary year of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Labour controlled Southwark Council, and its Leader Cllr Peter John, are coming under increasing pressure to answer questions over the treatment of graves under the protection of the Commission and located in an area of Camberwell Old Cemetery, South East London, reports Andy Brockman. The area is undergoing redevelopment to create new burial spaces, but campaigners allege that the extensive ground works in an area of the cemetery which contains public graves, as opposed to privately owned grave plots, has been poorly researched and that consultations were conducted either late or not at all. One allegation, backed up by e-mails released under the Freedom of Information Act, suggests that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission itself has expressed concern that the grave of at least two servicemen might even become buried under a new footpath.
Occupying a hillside setting with panoramic views across south east London and the City, Camberwell Old Cemetery opened in 1856, with a chapel and lodge designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, who also designed St Pancras station and the Albert Memorial. By 1984 an estimated 300,000 people had been …
