By the war’s end the Western Front was dotted with cemeteries. Created by the armies of all combatant nations and containing graves of men from across the globe, the question was what to do next. Were the cemeteries to be made permanent or was there to be mass exhumation and repatriation. As far as the British Empire was concerned, much of the decision-making was well in hand through the planning of the Imperial War Graves Commission. Formed in 1917, the IWGC had been considering the issue from the moment of its inception and had decided that cemeteries established by British Empire troops should be made permanent and contain standard architectural and horticultural features, which included a uniform headstone.
As might be expected, many of the bereaved had hoped to mark their loved one’s graves with a memorial of their own choice, but this option had been shut off by the decision to place full authority over the dead in the hands of the IWGC. However, this did not stop some people from circumventing the rule and erecting their own memorial in the cemeteries. Aware of this activity, the Commission sought to act with consideration and tact. Relatives were offered the opportunity to have their memorial sent home and replaced with a standard Commission headstone. Some objected firmly, in which case the Commission quietly dropped the matter. In a small number of cases, a compromise was reached: where a family wished the memorial to remain, but had no deep qualms about the standard headstone, the Commission simply erected one in front of the original.
Stumbling across these exceptions that prove the rule is always intriguing and moving. Such monuments are expressions of a family’s pain but stand in such sharp contrast to the uniform design, they serve to underline the wonder of the Commission’s approach; its aptness, and dignity infused with immense beauty and a sense of tranquillity.
Another can be found in the Faubourg D’Amiens Cemetery at the grave of Major N.B. Sinclair-Travis. Poignantly, Travis-Sinclair’s next of kin used the Commission headstone to repeat the inscription his comrades must have placed on his original grave-marker, ‘IN LOVING MEMORY OF OUR O.C. AND PAL PERFECT PEACE’. To eschew any personal statement in favour of that original tribute invites us to contemplate the very deep and complex emotions behind such decisions. Exploring the battlefields is always challenging, always rewarding and always an enhancing experience.
Contact me to discuss a battlefield tour that includes such sites.
