The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
The graves
of 39 British soldiers who died in a German prisoner of war camp during the First World War are being restored, 100 years after the start of the conflict. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is rebuilding the cemetery at Lidzbark Warminski,
THE GRAVES of 39 British soldiers who died in a German prisoner of war camp during the First World War are being restored, 100 years after the start of the conflict.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is rebuilding the cemetery at Lidzbark Warminski.
The men will each have their own headstone grouped in a special memorial plot, with a marker stone at the site.
They are believed to have died between August and December 1918 at what was then Heilsberg prisoner of war camp in the east of Germany — the region was ceded to Poland after the Second World War.
They were buried in the local cemetery, which was marked with a traditional Cross of Sacrifice and headstones by the CWGC after the war.
In the 1960s, the site deteriorated and the commission decided to commemorate the men at Malbork Commonwealth War Cemetery in northern Poland.
Now they are being returned to Lidzbark Warminski with the work, which started last week, to be followed by a rededication ceremony expected to be attended by some of the men’s families in next month.
The commission launched an appeal to track down relatives of the men, prompting a number of families to come forward.
At the ceremony, a new visitor information panel will also be installed at the cemetery, giving any visitors to the site more information about it.
A CWGC spokesman said: “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is delighted that work has started to restore these graves — a task that would have been impossible without the generous support of the local authorities and community.
“It is extremely gratifying that the CWGC LidzbarkWarminskiWar Cemetery will once more become a fitting tribute to the men whose sacrifice is honoured here.”