At 10.30 am on Friday, 20 June 2014, James will begin visiting a number war graves in Fleet (All Saints), Ewshot (St Mary’s), and Crondall (Crondall cemetery), to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Great War. The visit supports the national initiative spearheaded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the All-Party Parliamentary War Heritage Group, and the ‘In From The Cold Project’, that maps over 300,000 Commonwealth war dead.
James said, “The Centenary of the outbreak of the First World War is a time for reflection and commemoration. Fleet, Ewshot, and Crondall are the resting places of very brave men who never returned from battle. Visiting the graves of the fallen is a simple but profoundly important way to commemorate the outbreak of the war. I would like to invite all my constituents to visit these cemeteries during the next year, and in this way acknowledge the lives of the men who were lost, and remember this profoundly important moment in our country’s history.”
Deirdre Mills, CWGC’s Director of UK Area states that: “More than 300,000 Commonwealth servicemen and women are commemorated in the UK. Many died in military hospitals whilst being treated for their wounds or fell victim to the flu pandemic as the conflict drew to a close. Their graves reflect both the local impact of the war but also its wider historical significance.
CWGC has launched an online Virtual Cemetery education portal that provides schools and teachers with a comprehensive range of resources and support materials linked to the graves and memorials in their home town. Thevirtual cemetery website www.cwgc-virtual-cemetery.org is an interactive tool which enables people to view images and videos about the people who are commemorated in its cemeteries and memorials.