CWGC Gardening: Then and Now

To coincide with National Gardening Week the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has uncovered some of the remarkable stories of the gardeners who shaped one of the world’s most recognisable forms of remembrance.

They include former soldiers who returned to the Western Front to care for the graves of their comrades; a gardener who defied the Nazis; and the current story of an ex-serviceman who has found peace in tending to these unique places of reflection.

In Gardening Then and Now, a special online feature, CWGC details the lives of these remarkable individuals and looks at what it took to become a CWGC gardener in the 1920s; how the gardens came to exist and why; how the CWGC’s care of these places has evolved over a century of gardening expertise; and the vital role horticulture plays in remembrance of the war dead.

David Richardson, CWGC’s Director of Horticulture explained; “Today, CWGC is one of the world’s largest and most recognised horticultural organisations – employing more than 850 gardeners worldwide who, collectively, care for cemetery gardens from the tropics of Asia to the deserts of North Africa.

“Our cemeteries and memorials are famed the world over for their horticulture – which is an essential part of our commemoration of the war dead – but why they were created and how we care for these places is perhaps less well known. In Gardening Then and Now we take a look at the history of our gardens and the people who made them. We also look at what has changed over 100 years of gardening excellence.

“The sheer scale of our gardening commitment is impressive – we measure borders in kilometres and mow the equivalent of almost 1,000 football pitches every week. But no matter the size of cemetery, each flower, each tree, each blade of grass is cared for with a passion that typifies our staff and our approach to commemorating the war dead – not just yesterday or today, but tomorrow and always.”

Many of CWGC’s early gardeners were ex-servicemen who chose to stay on and live and work in a devastated post-war landscape to ensure their comrades would not be forgotten. For many, the work was part of their own healing process. Through adversity they created one of the world’s most recognisable forms of remembrance and set standards CWGC continues to strive for and deliver today.

They include men like Robert Armstrong – an ex Irish Guardsman who stayed behind to care for his cemetery at Valenciennes when the German Army invaded France in 1940. Robert joined the resistance and used the tool shed at the back of his cemetery to aid escaping Allied servicemen. He was eventually imprisoned by the Gestapo, badly beaten and later died as a result of his injuries but he is still fondly remembered today in the small French village where he lived and worked.

To bring the service connection up to date, former Colour Sergeant and now CWGC gardener, Wayne Harrod spoke about how his work caring for more than 1,000 war graves at Cambridge City Cemetery and how this has given him a new lease of life. Harry, as he likes to be known, said; “I know it might sound strange – that caring for the dead gave me an appreciation for life – but that is what happened.

“I’d lost a leg in an accident and eventually left the Army in 2011, after a 24 year career. I found getting a job really difficult. Inevitably that was stressful and there were some dark days but then an opportunity came up to work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as a gardener. I didn't have any qualifications but by the end of my placement in 2012 I was taken on full time. I went back to college and have gained my diploma in horticulture.

“Having served I feel a very personal connection to the boys I look after at Cambridge and a sense of what it must have been like for some of my CWGC forbears doing  this job in the early days. I’ve got to know the lads buried here and my work feels important. I’m passionate about what I do here and what my colleagues around the world do too.” 

Harry has since gone on to represent GB and win medals at the Invictus Games.

Members of the public can discover more about the CWGC’s remarkable gardening heritage on a specially created website at www.cwgc.org/aftermath and share the pictures and stories of their favourite CWGC gardens via social media using @CWGC.