What For Evermore Is and Why It Matters

Capturing, preserving and sharing World War stories is more important than ever. For Evermore: Stories of the Fallen is the perfect way to read and share these moving, inspiring and interesting Commonwealth casualty stories.

As the World Wars slide from living memory, so too do the experiences, tales, and stories of the men and women who served, including those who sadly lost their lives in these world-changing conflicts.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates 1.7 million men and women who died in the World Wars. Each was a real person with their own inner and outer lives; friends, families, hopes and dreams.

For Evermore is an opportunity to showcase their stories – but we need help to build our stories archive even further!

At a glance: What's on this page

This page is a guide to Commonwealth War Graves' online storytelling platform and archive For Evermore: Stories of the Fallen. It covers:

• What For Evermore is
• Why it is important and matters in the context of commemoration and remembrance
• What kind of stories you can share on our digital stories archive
• How to use CWGC records as a starting point for your story
• How to upload a story to For Evermore

What Is For Evermore?

For Evermore: Stories of the Fallen is a digital storytelling platform from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

A place to share and discover stories

For Evermore’s digital stories archive is full of the lives, exploits and military service details of Commonwealth men and women commemorated by the CWGC.

The stories archive is open to anyone to submit a story if we commemorate the subject. 
We have moving family stories that showcase their ancestors' exploits and experiences. Others are submitted by partner organisations, historic and local institutes and societies, individual researchers, and anyone with an interest in the people we commemorate.

How For Evermore connects to CWGC commemoration

Commemoration is at the heart of everything we do at the Commonwealth War Graves.  For Evermore is another way to remember and commemorate the service personnel in our care.

These stories help humanise the real people behind the names in our records, carved into our headstones, and etched into our memorial name panels.

The difference between a record and a story

CWGC records are not complete stories; they are mainly focused on recording the names and final resting places of Commonwealth service personnel who died in the World Wars.

While our records are a great entry point for a story, they are not military service records, nor do they contain many personal details.

A story gives background and biographies of those commemorated in our war cemeteries and on our war memorials. They can include anything, from the subject’s upbringing, their employment, hobbies, interests and skills, and of course, their military service.

Why For Evermore Matters

Since we launched For Evermore in 2023, we have been gathering and sharing all the Commonwealth military stories we can. But why? Why is collecting, collating and disseminating these tales important?

From a name to a person

While our cemeteries and memorials commemorating Commonwealth servicemen and women by name are powerful points of remembrance and reflection, they don’t tell the whole story.

The names in our records, on our headstones, plaques, and name panels represent real people. Before they lost their lives in military service, each was a real person with their own individual lives, families, interests, skills, hopes and ambitions.

How stories deepen commemoration

Understanding that these were normal living people caught up in extraordinary situations, getting to understand their lives, deepens commemoration.

We can better connect and understand with our ancestors and their experiences by knowing more about them.

In the case of non-UK Commonwealth nations, we can get a better understanding of how and why millions around the world served in the British Empire, either voluntarily, pressed into service, or recruited for other reasons.

By getting a deeper picture of who served in the Commonwealth’s armed forces in wartime, we can better appreciate their loss, strengthening the importance of commemoration.

Carrying World War stories forward

As the World Wars fade from living memory, carrying their stories forward is more important than others, in terms of appreciating the scale of loss and sacrifice made by so many across the Commonwealth.

As a digital platform, For Evermore is available all year round and is accessible anywhere. For younger generations, it makes the ideal entry point for understanding the real men and women behind the names.

For Evermore stories are useful in preserving and sharing elements of our shared Commonwealth history and are often deep in memory and meaning.

Who Can Use For Evermore?

Anyone with a relevant story, memory, photograph or research about someone commemorated by CWGC can explore and upload First and Second World War stories on For Evermore.

You do not need to be an expert historian to submit stories to For Evermore. It is open to everyone and free to use.

Families and descendants

First World War family stories and Second World War family stories are among the most popular For Evermore stories.

We originally launched the storytelling platform with the intention of giving a space for families to share their ancestor’s World War stories. While it has grown to encompass more, For Evermore is still the ideal place to upload and share yours.

One of the moving things about For Evermore family stories is the sense of pride coming through the page. Regardless of the country of service, nature of their enlistment, or where they served, you can feel the emotion coming through on the page when reading a family-submitted story.

Researchers and community groups

We welcome any submissions from individual researchers with their own story archives. 
Likewise, we are happy to work with any organisations or societies that wish to share World War stories on our storytelling platform.

At the time of writing, we have partnered with organisations such as the Thiepval Memorial Database Project, the medal departments of Spinks and Noonans Mayfair, and more similar organisations to share Commonwealth stories from the World Wars.

In doing so, we have given a further space for these groups’ stories, helping preserve them forever and reach worldwide audiences.

Want to collaborate with us on For Evermore? Please contact our team to get started!

Teachers, students and educators

For Evermore is also a great educational resource. With thousands of stories waiting to be browsed, teachers and educators can use For Evermore in the classroom when teaching World War-related curricula as personal entry points into understanding the people behind the conflicts.

Sarah Nathaniel, CWGC Education Officer, says: “For Evermore makes an excellent starting point for any classroom exploration of the World Wars. Starting with the real story of one of our casualties is a powerful way of personalising the experience of war on individuals and communities, allowing interesting routes into local history and a range of topics. 

“Schools and youth groups are also encouraged to upload the stories they uncover through their own research to For Evermore, contributing to the global knowledge of who we commemorate and ensuring the stories are not lost.”

What Kinds of Stories Can Be Shared?

We are looking for stories of the men and women commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that help fill in the details behind the names.

While there is no standard structure or format, the only key criterion for a For Evermore story is that it is about a person commemorated by the CWGC.

Family memories and photographs

For Evermore story submissions enhanced with photographs, mementoes and other memories are incredibly powerful emotionally. 

We encourage you to illustrate your stories where possible, with a picture or pictures of the serviceman or woman you’re writing about. 

After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Some of the most moving family stories we see on For Evermore are those with pictures of the subject with their friends and families pre-war and during military service.

What For Evermore helps us do is humanise the names in our records. Photographs go a long way towards achieving this, putting a face to a name.

Records, research and local history

CWGC records are an ideal starting place for crafting a family war story or undertaking research, but they do not tell the whole story.

You may need to draw on numerous resources to write a casualty story. Many families have preserved their ancestors’ papers and effects, such as letters, paybooks, and more personal items that give insights into their military service and pre-war lives.

The National Archives holds military service records, including unit war diaries, which can be useful in putting together a For Evermore story. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand also have extensive histories and profiles of servicemen and women.

Census information can also be used to build a picture of a subject’s pre-war life, containing job, education, and geographic information, for example. Other places to find biographical information include sports club records, local newspaper archives, and school and education records.

Small details that help tell a story

It’s the little details that turn a dry report or account into a fully realised story.

Like photographs, they help humanise the story, giving us glimpses into the real lives of those who were sadly lost during their military service.

How For Evermore Connects to CWGC Records

For Evermore and Commonwealth War Graves records are closely linked.

Start with a name

Every story needs a cast, and our records can help you assemble it.

Our database contains the names of all 1.7m men and women of the Commonwealth who lost their lives in First and Second World Wars.

If you have a casualty’s name, you can use our Find War Dead tool to search our database. This will give you some key service details, such as:

• Their branch of service
• Their battalion squadron, ship, regiment
• Their place of commemoration

This can help you begin to flesh out your story or fill in details you may have been missing.

On each casualty page, you will find all of the above details, as well as any extra information we may have, such as personal inscriptions and names of relatives. Some may also include a picture of their headstone or name panel inscription.

Check the official record

Our records have been compiled over more than a century, following the aftermath of the First World War.

Working closely with military authorities, national archives, researchers, and other organisations, we are constantly updating and authenticating our records to ensure maximum possible accuracy.

CWGC records can help verify For Evermore stories as they have passed our stringent checking and verification processes, based on our archives, contemporary research, international collaboration and our ongoing work.

Our records are useful for verifying details such as places of commemoration, years of death, regiment, country of service, service branch, and other important biographical story elements.

Add context through a story

While CWGC records are essential for verifying facts like place of burial or point of commemoration, they are not full military service records. 

However, they can work alongside For Evermore family and World War stories to give context to both. 
Often, a place of burial or point of commemoration will indicate what a particular service person was doing at the time of their death.

For example, if a serviceman is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, we can draw some conclusions:

1. He was probably involved in the Battle of the Somme between 1 July and 18 November 1916
2. As he is commemorated on a CWGC war memorial, he has no known war grave, his place of burial is unknown
3. They may have served in either the British or South African forces

However, as our records do not specify military details, you will need to supplement the CWGC record with others. Unit diaries and regimental histories can help here.

Cemetery and memorial pages also include historical information related to the establishment of the site, and battle details for those commemorated there.

How For Evermore Can Deepen a Visit

Knowing more about the people commemorated at a specific site can deepen visitors' emotional impact and connection.

Before you visit

Before visiting a CWGC site, why not search for it on For Evermore? For instance, if you were to search “Thiepval” on For Evermore, it would bring up all the stories we have of servicemen commemorated there in our archive.

That way, you can read some of the stories of the real people commemorated by a particular memorial and search for their final resting place on your visit.

Be sure to check individual cemetery or memorial pages for visiting information, such as directions, opening hours, and historical context.

Why not download the For Evermore app? It is pre-loaded with stories of those we commemorated across specially curated virtual and in-person tours at select CWGC sites. Use it before you visit and on-site to enhance your experience and discover more stories of the fallen.

At the cemetery or memorial

Using your saved story, the For Evermore app, or browsing For Evermore website on-site, you can read the real stories of the people behind the headstones and name panels at their place of commemoration.

It can be a very moving experience, learning about the life and service of a person commemorated directly in front of you, particularly if they were a relative.

Casualty pages on our website have location information to help you find specific war graves or names on memorials. This information is also available in the on-site registers, normally available in shelter buildings and entrances.

After your visit

After your visit, we hope you will be inspired to visit more CWGC sites, including our Visitor Centres in Beaurains, France, and Ieper, Belgium.

For Evermore is a permanent online archive. It will be there for you to browse more stories and for you to share yours, as the name suggests, forevermore. 

How to Share a Story on For Evermore

Sharing a story on For Evermore is easy. Watch the video below for a step-by-step guide on how to share a For Evermore story.

Why For Evermore Matters

For Evermore matters because it supports year-round commemoration. How? By helping people discover and share stories whenever they find a name, visit a site or uncover and share their family history.

Beyond one moment in time

For the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, commemoration is a year-round commitment. For Evermore supports this by giving a permanent place to discover stories of those we commemorate at any time.

Stories for future generations

For Evermore is about preserving stories, experiences, and memories of the Commonwealth men and women who served and died in the World Wars.

As these conflicts fade from living memory, it’s never been more important to capture these stories so future generations can discover, learn, and remember them.

Keeping names visible

Likewise, For Evermore works in tandem with our headstones, war graves, memorial name panels, and grave markers to keep these names visible.

Over 1.7 million names are commemorated by Commonwealth War Graves. It’s our duty to keep them known and visible so we can appreciate, understand, and honour their loss.

Author acknowledgements

Alec Malloy is a CWGC Digital Content Executive. He has worked at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission since February 2022. During that time, he has written extensively about the World Wars, including major battles, casualty stories, and the Commission's work commemorating 1.7 million war dead worldwide.