Adam wins a place at heart of wars’ history
AWIDNES student has fought off stiff competition to land an internship with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
Adam Tomkins, 23, beat hundreds of applicants to become a CWGC Centenary Intern – working with the CWGC in France and Belgium, at some of the most important sites commemorating those who died in the two world wars.
The CWGC Centenary Internship has been funded by a LIBOR grant from the UK Government and is now supported by the CWGC’s new charity The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF).
Members of the public can join and support the CWGF via the CWGC website: www.cwgc.org
The foundation has been specifically created to keep alive the memory ● and the stories of those who died in the two world wars for generations to come.
Liz Sweet, the CWGC’s director of external relations in western Europe, said: “The numbers of people visiting our cemeteries and memorials is at an all-time high but with the passage of time, many of those visitors are looking to the CWGC to provide more information about those who died, the wider history of the two world wars, and the work we do to care for such places.
“We were seeking the brightest and best of their generation to enrich that visitor experience and Adam will be part of a programme that makes a real difference to those visitors.”
Speaking about his reason for applying, Adam said: “History has fascinated me from a young age and I applied for the role to gain a greater understanding of the CWGC and the world wars. My knowledge of the CWGC comes mainly from assisting my grandfather while he was researching a local battalion which served along the Western Front during the Great War.
“I feel that it is important that my generation recognises and honours the sacrifice made by the war dead, many of whom were around my age.”
The CWGC Centenary Interns programme is a unique opportunity for young people to travel, live and work with the CWGC in France and Belgium over the course of the summer in 2018.
Following a period of training, the interns act as paid guides at several iconic CWGC sites – including Tyne Cot and Bedford House cemeteries near Ypres in Belgium, and the Thiepval Memo- ● rial to the Missing of the Somme in France.
They will welcome and guide visitors, undertake research and help offer context and clearer understanding of both the CWGC and the First World War, from the perspective of people not much younger than many of those who died.