. This 105-year-old institution — originally the Imperial War Graves Commission — has a fascinating backstory, and you don't need to be a history buff to get to grips with it. A new visitor experience at the War Graves HQ near Arras, in northern France, makes it accessible to all. Free to visit, the CWGC looks after some 3,000 cemeteries in France alone — and another 20,000 memorials and cemeteries in 150 countries worldwide. But it does more than just preserve the past. It is actively involved in genealogy, helping families trace their own lost loved ones, and using DNA technology to investigate recent battlefield discoveries. You can learn about all of it with an audio guide, or join a tour with one of the enthusiastic staff. Our guide Cameron overflowed with knowledge, making the story come alive. Perhaps because there is a link with his home town of Rye, in East Sussex. The original Cross of Sacrifice — a bronze sword set in a stone cross — was designed by another Rye local, Reginald Blomfield. You can see it at St Mary's churchyard on the Sussex coast. Blomfield was one of a team of designers and intellectuals who shaped the way we think about remembrance today. Among them was Edwin Lutyens, best known for the Cenotaph on Whitehall. Arch){kind=link}
IT IS not so much the number of graves that hits you as the number of cemeteries.
Some are small, such as Bethune, where we stopped for a now great, great grandfather; some are enormous, like Etaples, where thousands upon thousands more are commemorated.
And all are immaculate, thanks to the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
This 105-year-old institution – originally the Imperial War Graves Commission – has a fascinating backstory, and you don’t need to be a history buff to get to grips with it.
A new visitor experience at the War Graves HQ near Arras, in northern France, makes it accessible to all.