HRH The Duke of Kent visits Brookwood Military Cemetery for first ever War Graves Week

His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent, President of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, visited the largest military cemetery in the UK today as part of our first ever War Graves Week.

War Graves Week is a new initiative aimed at encouraging communities to come together and discover the World War heritage on their doorstep – learning about the stories of those commemorated in the UK and the skills, dedication and expertise of those CWGC staff who work to keep their memory alive.

Throughout the week – from 21 to 28 May – our teams across the country have held skills demonstrations, cemetery tours, and online and physical events showcasing the stories of just some of the 300,000 men and women commemorated in the UK.

To coincide with War Graves Week CWGC launched a postcode search function for its online war dead database. The new postcode search contains the war records of more than 400,000 First World War personnel, whose CWGC war dead record includes a publicly listed address. Entering a postcode reveals the nearest street in which a war casualty was from – presenting an opportunity for people of all ages to welcome the memory of these men and women back to the streets where they lived.

His Royal Highness, who has presided over CWGC for more than fifty years, was given a tour of the cemetery by Claire Horton CBE, the Commission’s Director General. Claire said: “We are delighted to be launching our first ever War Graves Week. For us at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, remembrance and the sharing and caring for World War heritage is a daily duty.

“We wanted to take a chance to help people to see that work in action and make a local discovery. Many people already know about their family’s links to the World Wars, but all of us have somewhere we call home today, and those places have their own stories too.

“By simply entering your postcode on our website you can take the first step towards making a new connection.

“We want people to share the stories they find and download a tribute for the men and women from their communities and display it in their window for War Graves Week.

“Behind every name on a war grave or memorial is a human story just waiting to be discovered, and War Graves Week is the perfect opportunity to do just that.”

Brookwood Military Cemetery, near Woking, in Surrey, is the largest CWGC site in the UK and has more than 5,000 burials and 3,500 commemorations on its two world war memorials.