“Our task now is to put right what we can”
The CWGC’s official historian George Hay on the commission’s next steps
Following the broadcast of Unremembered, I was asked to work with a newly established special committee of experts and community representatives to investigate historical inequalities in commemoration. We were looking for divergence, particularly from the CWGC’s core principle of equality in death. Much of what we found came as a surprise, and there is no doubt that the report we published makes for difficult reading. But it is also a document of which the CWGC can be proud: of the fact that the organisation is willing to confront a difficult past with honesty, integrity and transparency, and also that it was not an exercise in academic catharsis but a catalyst for positive action.
The global former battlefields of the First World War were not alike. During this study we saw how weather, composition of soil, wild animals and even the theft of grave markers could make the recovery of the dead difficult or even impossible. This led to differences in the way in which the commission worked and the dead were commemorated. Far more significant in this respect, however, were the consequences of decisions taken by the armed forces, colonial authorities and, most importantly, the Imperial War Graves Commission itself. The reasons are many and complex, and I strongly encourage people to read the report. Nevertheless, the conclusions state that, primarily across Africa and the Middle East, upwards of 45,000 men were commemorated differently to those in 'urope, and potentially more than 116,000 men were not commemorated by name or potentially not commemorated at all.
These numbers speak for themselves, and the report pulls no punches when it comes to details and responsibilities, but perhaps more important are the 10 recommendations made by the committee. These are targeted at addressing these issues, and the CWGC has embraced them in their entirety. Our task now is not to dwell on the failures of the past but to apply ourselves and our resources to putting right what we can.
That work has already started. We have begun the search for names. We are engaging affected communities and sharing our findings. We are progressing plans for physical and digital commemoration, and we are creating education and community outreach programmes so that future generations appreciate the contributions and sacrifices made by all Commonwealth servicemen and women.
The CWGC’s achievements in the aftermath of the world wars remain extraordinary, but we are grateful to Professor Barrett and David Lammy for casting a spotlight on this important part of our history, and to the special committee for helping to bring the full extent of the issue to light. A century ago, we believe we failed these men and their families. We will not fail them again.
The CWGC of today retains an enduring conviction that the promises we made to those we were established to serve remain binding, and it is without hesitation that we reaffirm our commitment to our founding principles of commemoration in perpetuity and with equal treatment for all. Above all, the CWGC will continue in its mission to live up to a promise made more than a century ago and inscribed in stone at CWGC sites around the globe: “Their name liveth for evermore”.
There is no doubt that the report we published makes for Fiʛcult reaFing $ut it is also a document of which the CWGC can be proud