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Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of time

Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 10:18 am
by Christel
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23153652

The amount of work that goes into maintaining these places, nothing but respect to the people who are doing it.

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:21 am
by Jenks
christel wrote:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23153652

The amount of work that goes into maintaining these places, nothing but respect to the people who are doing it.
Christel..

I have visited dozens of cemeteries in Flanders and Picardy. Even one in Taiping Malaysia.

http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cem ... 20CEMETERY

And all were maintained to a very high standard by employees of the CWGC . But some graves are hardly maintained at all. One such is the grave of L/cpl Walter Herbert Smith. I remind you of its condition at the time of remembrance day 2012.

Image

It looks a bit better today.

Image


Jenks

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:35 am
by 20series
Well done Jenks :goodjob:

Alan

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:46 am
by Christel
Well done indeed :good:

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:50 am
by ovenpaa
Nice one Jenks, that grass is looking good now.

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:04 am
by Jenks
The problem with L/cpl Siths grave is the overhanging Bay tree which drops leaves and twigs constantly. Fortunately I live literally 100 yards from the grave (as the crow flys) and can pop over and tidy it up on a regular basis, likewise water and trim the grass.

Jenks

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:12 am
by Christel
Jenks, what is that in front of the stone? A pink cross?

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:26 am
by Jenks
christel wrote:Jenks, what is that in front of the stone? A pink cross?
It is a little cross of remembrance* you can see a better picture of it in the first photo it appeared shortly after I started making enquiries locally about L/cpl smith To see if he had any living relatives whom I should consult before messing around with his grave. We only had one local family by the name of Smith and he wasn't one of theirs. His wife remarried and moved to Andover. I honestly believe that hardly anyone in the village knew that the had the two war graves in the cemetery. It will be interesting to see the community's reaction next remembrance day. I think just about everybody knows of their existence now ;)

*I found two such crosses (san petals) in the detritus I cleared from around the headstone.

Jenks

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 7:36 am
by whoowhoop
Jenks, that's a fine job you've done there.
It's a pity that more of us cannot follow your example.
This is exactly the sort of thing our children, through school or youth groups, toshould be involved in, to give them some understanding of recent history, and responsibility.

Re: Shielding Commonwealth war graves from the ravages of ti

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 2:16 pm
by Chuck
Jenks, that's a fine job you've done there.
It's a pity that more of us cannot follow your example.
This is exactly the sort of thing our children, through school or youth groups, toshould be involved in, to give them some understanding of recent history, and responsibility.
clapclap clapclap clapclap clapclap

The misguided PC and Ef'n safty lot would stop it getting off the ground though!

And Jenks, I take my hat off to you for your efforts. Good work sir.