The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, established by Royal Charter in 1917, has a number of responsibilities:
- Marking and maintaining the graves of members of the forces of Commonwealth countries who died in both World War One (WWI) and WWII.
- Maintaining memorials to the dead whose bodies have no known grave.
- Providing records and registers of these burials and commemorations.
In total the Commission is responsible for 1.7 million graves and memorials throughout the world.
Finding a WW1 Grave or Memorial
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The information held by the CWGC can be very useful for people researching their family history (genealogy) or simply trying to find out more about the recipient of a First World War medal. The details provided by the CWGC can help to locate the actual grave within a cemetery or the name commemorated on a WW1 memorial if you're planning to make a visit.
“Debt of Honour Register” Online
You can search the “Debt of Honour Register ” online for all 1.7 million deaths of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars.
The information you will be provided with from the register will be:
- name
- initial(s)
- nationality
- rank
- regiment/service
- date of death
- service number
- casualty type
- reference for the grave or place of commemoration as a Plot, Row and Grave reference
- historical details about the cemetery or memorial
- where to find the cemetery or memorial.
Additional information which may be included on the Register, if it has been recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, may be the person's military unit (at the time of death), age, and next of kin with an address.
By way of example, the details on the “Debt of Honour Register” for Corporal Thomas Henry Parker are as follows:
| Name: | PARKER, THOMAS HENRY |
|---|---|
| Initials: | T H |
| Nationality: | United Kingdom |
| Rank: | Corporal |
| Regiment/Service: | Royal Welsh Fusiliers |
| Unit Text: | 2nd Bn. |
| Age: | 26 |
| Date of Death: | 06/11/1916 |
| Service No: | 36892 |
| Additional information: | Son of Henry and Fanny E. Parker, of 11, Burnt Hill Lane, Rugeley, Staffordshire. |
| Casualty Type: | Commonwealth War Dead |
| Grave/Memorial Reference: | 1.A.1. |
| Cemetery: | LONDON CEMETERY AND EXTENSION, LONGUEVAL |
If you only know the surname of the person you are looking for, and it is a common name, you may find that there is a very long list of names to search through. If you can narrow down the search by providing any details to the Debt of Honour Register search box options it will help your search considerably. These details are:
- War (First or Second World War)
- Year of Death
- Force (Army, Air Force, Navy, Merchant Navy, Civilian)
- Nationality
Grave Location Enquiries by Post, Telephone or Email
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Records are held at the Commission's Head Office in Maidenhead. If you cannot find the information you require from an online search of the “Debt of Honour Register”, you can make an enquiry by post, telephone or email. Generally, traces for a grave will be free for immediate relatives, but others may have to pay a small fee for this service. Contact details for the CWGC are given below.
Further Reading
Remembered
The History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by Julie Summers, Brian Harris and Ian Hislop
Features images by award winning photographer Brian Harris, never before seen photographs from the Commission's own archives and a new history of the Commission by renowned author Julie Summers.
On Fame's Eternal Camping Ground
A Study of First World War Epitaphs in the British Cemeteries of the Western Front by Trefor Jones
Based on five years' research, this book presents more than 1,500 epitaphs on First World War headstones in the cemeteries of Belgium and France. These tributes to young sons, husbands and brothers of that lost generation, buried far from home, provide an eloquent and moving demonstration of the power and beauty of language.
Lutyens and the Great War
by Tim Skelton & Gerald Gliddon
Sir Edwin Lutyens did many works in connection with the First World War; Thiepval memorial on the Somme for example. This book describes the variety of these moving works and the stories behind them.
The Unending Vigil
This book by Philip Longworth tells the Commission's story from its beginnings on the Western Front during the First World War under the direction of Fabian Ware, describing the contribution made by the architects, sculptors, engineers, horticulturalists and men of letters who combined to create the war cemeteries and memorials that are so familiar today.
Head Office
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Head Office, 2 Marlow Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 7DX
Telephone +44 (0)1628 634221
Fax +44 (0)1628 771208
Area Offices
Area offices with responsibility for maintaining the graves of British and Commonwealth forces who died on the battlefields of Belgium and France can be visited. The offices hold a set of registers for the cemeteries and memorials.
Northern Europe Area: Ieper (Ypres)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Elverdingsestraat 82, B - 8900 Ieper, Belgium
Telephone +32 (0)57 20 01 18; Fax +32 (0)57 21 80 14
France Area: Beaurains (near Arras)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Rue Angèle Richard, 62217 Beaurains, France
Telephone +33 (0)3 21 21 77 00; Fax +33 (0)3 21 21 77 10
