There are more than 300,000 Commonwealth War Graves in the UK, in more than 13,000 locations around the country. As a keen amateur genealogist and social history buff, they have always intrigued me, and the aim of this site is to shine a light onto the people behind the names engraved on the headstones.
First World War war grave status is granted to those who met the following criteria:
- Qualifying dates between 4th August 1914 and 31st August 1921 inclusive.
- Any serving member of the Commonwealth Armed Forces who died during the qualifying dates in any location and of any cause whatsoever.
- Any former member of the Commonwealth Armed Forces who died during the qualifying dates of injuries or a condition related to service undertaken during the qualifying dates.
- A member of one of the recognised civilian organisations who died whilst on duty and of a war cause, or the increased threat brought on by war during the qualifying dates.
I have focused on graveyards and cemeteries readily accessible to me, in the south of England, primarily Kent, Somerset and Sussex (at least to date). The stories uncovered in these pages feature the souls who fell during the First World War, mainly because documentation on the men and women who died during the 1914-1918 conflict is more readily – and publicly – available than any later wars.
Where possible, I have aimed to record details of all Great War gravestones in a churchyard or cemetery. There are those whose graves no longer exist, however, and, in some of the larger cemeteries, there is no guarantee that I have been able to record the details of every Commonwealth War Grave. My aim, however, has always been to be as comprehensive as possible.
I am indebted to the following online resources for my research:
- Commonwealth War Graves
- Ancestry
- Fold3
- Find A Grave
- British Newspaper Archive
- National Army Museum
- Long Long Trail
Regarding the photographs used on the website, any of individual graves are those I have taken myself. Where I have used other images, they are, as far as I can tell, free of copyright. If, for whatever reason, this turns out not to be the case, then the use is through no malice intent or for any profit.
Death and Service 