Men of the Empire fighting at Passchendaele

SIR – Your report (July 31) of the Passchendaele centenary refers to “British and Commonwealth soldiers” and to “Allied casualties”. This choice of words is consistent with current terminology, but it is not how Servicemen from across the British Empire thought of themselves at the time.

They would not have regarded Britain as a mere ally. France and Belgium were their allies; those from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India and South Africa, who went to war with their brothers in arms from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, did so as one British people, with a common loyalty.

This is reflected in the way the signatory nations were listed in 1919 in the Treaty of Versailles, with the names of the dominions indented beneath the heading of the British Empire.

We honour the men who enlisted during the First World War from all the British nations, many of whom died or survived side by side, if we recognise the common identity that underpinned their service. Matthew Tierney

Armidale, New South Wales, Australia

SIR – As we remember the men who fought at Passchendaele, we should also commemorate the work of Major General Sir Fabian Ware.

At the age of 45, Sir Fabian volunteered to go to France to lead a mobile unit of the British Red Cross. He quickly realised that there was no proper provision for the burial and recording of the war dead, so founded what is now known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Today, the Commission tends cemeteries in more than 2,300 locations. The largest is at Tyne Cot near Passchendaele and the smallest on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina.

In 2014, English Heritage honoured Sir Fabian with a blue plaque at his home in Marylebone. Perhaps it is time for a more substantial memorial. Ian R Lowry

Reading, Berkshire