Explore our West Region
The West region includes war cemeteries and memorials in Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Bristol, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Cardiff, Ceredigion, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan.
In this region the CWGC commemorates almost 27,000 service personnel at more than 1,300 locations.
Meet the team
I'm Amy and I am the Public Engagement Coordinator for the Wales Region. I can trace my interest in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission back to childhood, when I learned that my Great-Uncle, Ernest Cope, was buried in Kranji War Cemetery in Singapore. Reading a newspaper article about him, printed many decades before I was born, sparked a lifelong interest in family history. I have since discovered two more relatives buried in CWGC graves, one in Newcastle and one in the Somme, in France. Equally, the first war cemetery I visited - Suda Bay in Crete - made a big impression on me, too. Over 1,500 servicemen are commemorated in a beautiful, well-kept plot overlooking the sea. It was moving to see how much the gardeners and stonemasons care for the individual graves. I am very proud to be part of the team that carries on the Commission's work here in the UK, raising awareness of our ongoing commitment to commemorate the fallen and tell their individual stories. Â
Hi, I’m Andy and I am the Regional manager for the Commissions work across the West of England and Wales.
I have been with the CWGC since 1988, a job which has taken me all over the world from France to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, Germany and now Wales! In total my team are responsible for the care of over 29,000 war graves at more than 2,500 locations across the West and West (Central) Regions.
I have five maintenance teams across the West Regions. Two are teams of skilled maintenance craftsmen based in the Cardiff and Coventry area who are responsible for cleaning and inspecting headstones, while the three horticultural teams based at Beachley and Cannock, maintain the horticultural elements of the sites.
The vast majority of sites we work at across the West Region have only one or two war graves and my teams spend a lot of time on the road visiting each one on a regular basis. We do however have several large cemeteries in the West Region that contain many Commonwealth graves such as Cardiff (Cathay) Cemetery.
To get in touch with the regional operations team, please:Â
Hi, I’m Neil and I am the Regional Operations Coordinator for the West of England and Wales. I oversee the day to day operations of our craftsmen and gardeners. My time is split between hands on work and administration duties.
I often spend most of my time traveling the entire region, inspecting sites ahead of the maintenance team arriving, creating a list of work for them to undertake when they arrive. Our horticultural staff work to a 10-day operational cycle at the sites where the Commission have full responsibility for the maintenance, such as at Cannock Chase War Cemetery. At other locations, where we work alongside local authority staff, we visit every 6 to 8-weeks to carrying out top up maintenance.
The West and West Central region consists of 30 counties and our aim is to inspect and carry out maintenance duties constantly within a 30-month cycle.
To get in touch with the regional operations team, please:Â
This example of a grand Victorian garden cemetery is where the CWGC commemorates more war dead than anywhere else in Bristol. Many were buried by their next of kin, but others are far from home indeed
Bristol (Arnos Vale) Cemetery
Amongst the many thousands of civilian burials here are 254 Commonwealth War Graves, 158 from the First World War and 96 from the Second.
Gloucester Old Cemetery
Owned by the MOD but cared for by the CWGC, come and visit a century’s graves of men of the army, navy and air force. Forty are First World War graves, while 33 were buried here between 1939-1947.
Pembroke Dock Military Cemetery
Visit the largest group of war graves in this part of Mid Wales. Thirteen servicemen of the First World War and eleven of the Second lie here, most of them under the familiar CWGC pattern headstone.
Brecon Cemetery