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The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission originated as the Imperial War Graves Commission, which was incorporated by Royal Charter on May 21, 1917. A Supplemental Charter in 1940 extended its duties to include those who died in the Second World War, and another in 1960 changed its name to the present one.
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Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, and the Republic of South Africa are members of the Commission. All share in the Commission's operating costs in proportion to the number of their war dead.
From the beginning, the Commission's sole purpose and function has been the burial and commemoration in perpetuity of the 1,695,000 war dead of the Armed Forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the First and Second World Wars. They are buried in more than 23,000 burial sites in 140 countries around the world and the names of those whose final resting places are unknown are commemorated on more than 200 memorials erected in the areas where they fought and died.
The 2,500 Commonwealth War Cemeteries throughout the world have been designed and laid out following the plans of some of the most eminent architects of the day. It is the Commission's policy that these cemeteries should be laid out to give the impression of beautiful gardens with the green of grass and foliage and the colour and scent of flowers everywhere. They are places of beauty where the peace and serenity of the atmosphere cannot fail to impress themselves upon the visitor.
Each war cemetery is marked by a large stone Cross of Sacrifice bearing on its shaft a crusader's sword of bronze, and in the larger cemeteries there is also a Stone of Remembrance, an altar-like monument bearing the words: Their Name Liveth For Evermore.
One of the main principles governing the Commission's work is that of equality of sacrifice, thus each of the dead is commemorated individually by name and all are treated as equals, irrespective of rank, civilian status, race or religion.
Canada's war dead in the Netherlands are buried mainly in seven Commonwealth War Cemeteries, or are commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial. The Canadian Agency of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is co-located with the Department of Veterans Affairs in Ottawa, and has responsibility for some 19,000 Commonwealth war dead buried in Canada and the USA.
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