21 August 2020
Back To Work Around The World
The Coronavirus crisis has made all of us around the world pause and think again about how we can live and work safely, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is no exception. As a global organisation with operations stretching across more than 150 countries and territories our return to work looks different everywhere, and we’ll continue to adapt where needed.
But by respecting social distancing and providing the right safety gear we’ve been able to get the vast majority of our teams back to a new normal. Here’s a glimpse what our return to work has looked like in recent months.
As lockdowns began around the world we had to assess what we could safely continue to do. Thankfully our most common daily tasks all take place outdoors and can easily be adapted around social distancing. This allowed us to quickly adapt a new programme for our gardeners and stonemasons in countries where local travel was still safe.
Last year we opened our first ever visitor centre, the CWGC Experience, where people can get a first-hand view at the work we do day-in day-out to conserve our heritage and remember the fallen. After a three-month closure we’ve now been able to reopen with new safety protocols to protect our staff and visitors. As the centre is at our workshop in Beaurains, France, we mostly expect local visitors in the short-term, but look forward to seeing more faces soon.
When times get tough it’s always heartening to see how people step up and offer to help. As the lockdown began in Italy in March our staff were getting ready to plant up hundreds of bulbs in Florence War Cemetery. Our local gardener Alessio volunteered to pot up more than 600 plants and care for them in his own garden until it was safe to return to work and install the borders.
For re-engraving projects like this one in Hampstead, working alone means months of work for one of our skilled UK stonemasons. It will take longer than first planned, but by slowly (and literally) chipping away at projects like this, we can minimise the long-term impact of Covid-19 on our work.
While some things are different the world over, one thing is the same everywhere – the importance of hygiene. Whether it’s on the former Western Front, or here, in Kenya, we’ve been ensuring our staff have everything they need to meet local guidelines and keep themselves clean.
Like so many others, our office-based staff have been working from home for a while now. As well as keeping all those core functions that businesses need, we have had to adapt how we can share our stories with the public. Group talks have been re-arranged on video chat and from podcasts, live social media broadcasts and a new digital wall of remembrance, there’s plenty going on to help you explore, learn and remember from the comfort of home.