As the list of casualties mounted, even before the end of the First World War the subject of how to suitably honour the names of those who had made the ultimate sacrifice had become a pressing one. Robert Mitchell marks the centenary of the formation of what became the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
War Graves Commission Centenary
On the eighth day of the Imperial War Conference at the Colonial Office in London, on Friday, 13 April 1917, the heads of state from the selfgoverning dominions agreed to consider the method by which the remains of those who had lost their lives during the war should be treated. Under the heading, ‘Care of Soldiers’ Graves’, it was noted that a draft charter had already been prepared by Fabian Ware for the Prince of Wales’ Committee for the Care of Soldiers Graves. In this, it was related that because of the very sensitive nature of the subject, the interests of the deceased and their relatives would be best served by the formation of a new organisation, rather than the work being entrusted to an existing body. The only existing organisation at that time being the Directorate of Graves Registration and Inquiries, which was led by Brigadier, later Major General, Fabian Ware.
