| Content Note | Topics covered:
1. Vice-Chairman’s Report of Expenditure authorised under Resolution 3 of the 25th Meeting of the Commission
Consideration of Report No.11 of Expenditure. Resolution that the Report be accepted
2. Vice-Chairman’s Report of Expenditure from Commission Funds for January 1921
Consideration of the Vice-Chairman’s detailed Report of Expenditure from Commission funds for January 1921. Resolution that the report be accepted
3. Alteration of payment clause in Common Form conditions of headstone contract
Consideration of letter from Director of Works requesting modifications to the payment clause of the Commission’s Common Form conditions of contract for the supply of headstones. Resolution that in the case of Headstone Contracts the reserve to remain in the hands of the Commission until after agreement of the final bill be reduced from 25% to 15% of the contract
4. Claim by Executors of J Cocks on account of increased wages paid to workmen
Consideration of letter from Director of Works relative to claim by the executors of the late Mr J Cocks to be allowed an ex gratia payment on account of wage conditions during the period of the contract. Resolution that the executors of Mr Cocks be granted a sum of £25 ex gratia
5. Appointment of Mr S Heathcote as Superintendent Clerk, London
Consideration of letter from Principal Assistant Secretary requesting authority to appoint Mr S Heathcote as Superintendent Clerk on the Establishment of the Commission in London. Resolution to recommend the appointment of Mr Heathcote
6. Appointment of Mr H R Blount, Cemetery Keeper, Port Said War Cemetery
Consideration of letter from Principal Assistant Secretary relative to the employment of Mr Blount as Cemetery Keeper of Port Said War Cemetery. Resolution that the Deputy Director of Works, Egypt, be authorised to pay the salary of Mr Blount from the date of the taking over of the cemetery by the Commission until the date of the expiry of Mr Blount’s contract with the DGR&E, 24th April 1921, and that he be replaced with a native gardener at the earliest possible date
7. Travelling and Subsistence allowances for staff of Canadian Agency
Consideration of letter from Secretary of the Commission’s Agency in Canada, requesting approval of certain rates of Travelling and Subsistence allowance for staff in Canada. Resolution for this matter to be adjourned and Colonel Osborne be asked for further information as to the proposed rates
8. Concentration of Graves from Stavros into Mikra Cemetery, Macedonia
Consideration of letter from Comptroller and Financial Adviser regarding the concentration of graves from Stavros Cemetery into Mikra Military Cemetery, Macedonia. Resolution to recommend the expenditure of £91 to defray the cost of concentrating 65 graves from Stavros Naval and Military Cemetery No.1, Neohori Bridge Military Cemetery, and Tasli Military Cemetery
9. Appointment of 3rd Grade Male Clerk for service with Historical Section of the Committee of Imperial Defence
Consideration of letter from Director of Records requesting authority to appoint a 3rd Grade Male Clerk to supply clerical assistance to the Historical Section of the Committee for Imperial Defence to allow the Commission full access to their records. Resolution to pay a contribution to the Committee of Imperial Defence of an amount equal to the salary of a 3rd Grade Male Clerk
10. Establishment for Registration of Graves in France and Belgium
Consideration of letter from Director of Records requesting authority to appoint the personnel required to continue the work of graves registration in France and Belgium. Resolution to recommend the expenditure of £7800 to for the salaries of the additional personnel to be appointed to the staff of the Commission in France and Belgium consequent on the transfer of the registration work of the DGR&E in France and Belgium to the Commission
11. Contract for constructional work at Nairobi Cemetery, East Africa
Consideration of letter from Director of Works requesting authority to proceed with constructional work at Nairobi Cemetery. Resolution to recommend the expenditure of £215 to defray the cost of the constructional work to be carried out at Nairobi Cemetery British East Africa (Kenya) and the expenditure of £60 to defray the cost of contingencies arising out of the performance of the works
12. Contract for constructional work at Faenza Communal Cemetery, Italy
Consideration of letter from Director of Works submitting tenders for constructional work at Faenza Communal Cemetery Extension. Resolution that the tender of Autoniazza Lingi of Tezze be accepted for the sum of lire 11,475,; that Autoniazza Lingi be relieved from the condition of depositing securities with Commission as a guarantee on the contract; and that the expenditure of lire 3436 to defray the cost of contingencies arising out of the contract be approved
13. Contract for constructional work at Bordighera Cemetery, Italy
Consideration of letter from Director of Works submitting tenders for constructional work at Bordighera Cemetery. Resolution that the tender of Impresa A Maderni of Berdighera be accepted for the sum of lire 30,476, and that the expenditure of lire 4600 to defray the cost of contingencies arising out of the contract be approved
14. Appointment of Gardeners and Gardeners Labourers for service in France and Belgium
Consideration of letter from Principal Assistant Secretary requesting authority for the immediate appointment of 100 Gardeners and Gardeners Labourers for cemeteries in France and Belgium. Resolution to authorise the immediate appointment of 100 Gardeners and Gardeners labourers
15. Headstone contract for Italian cemeteries
Consideration of report from Director of Works requesting authority to place a contract with Messrs. Portoni & Zecchinati for the supply and engraving of headstones to be erected in cemeteries in Italy. Resolution that the tender of Messrs. Portoni & Zecchinati of Schio, Italy, for the supply and engraving of 1000 headstones to be erected in Bordighera, Arquata, Faenza, Genoa, Brindisi, Taranto, and Naples Cemeteries be accepted; that the expenditure of lire 22000 to defray the cost of contingencies arising out of this contract be approved; and that the expenditure of lire 22000 to cover the cost of engraving personal inscriptions pending the receipt of the money from the next of kin be approved
16. Letter from Colonel Ford, Deputy Director of Works Palestine
Consideration of letter from Lt Col C G Ford, Deputy Director of Works, Palestine, requesting a grant in consideration of the extra expenses he will incur in removing from Palestine to London on the termination of his employment with the Commission. Resolution to grant Lt Col Ford an ex-gratia payment, and that claims of this kind be met from a Compassionate Fund
17. Salary of Draughtsmen, Macedonia
Consideration of letter from Principal Assistant Secretary requesting an increase in the salary of the Draughtsmen on the staff of the Commission in Macedonia. Resolution to increase the salary of the Draughtsmen from £250-25-300 to £350-25-400
18. Erection of headstones in Sweden
Consideration of letter from Director of Works requesting authority to place a contract for the supply and erection of 43 headstones in Sweden. Resolution authorising Director of Works to place a contract with Messrs. E L Schmidts of Gothenburg, Sweden, for the supply, engraving, transport, and erection of 43 headstones in Sweden at a cost of krone 8920
Attendees:
Major-General Sir Fabian Ware, KBE, CB, CMG (Chairman)
The Rt. Hon. Sir Alfred Mond, Bart., MP
The Hon. Sir Edgar R Bowring,
G H S Pinsent, Esqre. (Representing the Treasury)
Lieutenant Colonel H Ellissen, CBE (Secretary)
There were also present:
Lt Col C P Oswald, OBE (Deputy Financial Adviser)
Lt Col Robinson (Deputy Director of Works)
Additional documents include: table of expenditure for January 1921; correspondence concerning proposed alterations to the common form payment clause, 7th February 1921; report by E M Williamson, Assistant Inspector of Headstones, on a visit to Meaulte Military Cemetery to inspect the Wages Book and Time Sheets of the Executors of Mr Cocks, 7th February 1921; letter from J Langley, Chairman, Anglo-Egyptian War Cemeteries Executive Committee, concerning the employment of Mr Blount, 29th January 1921; report to the Director of Works from Lt Col E H Jarvis, Deputy Director of Works, Macedonia, on the attempted concentration of 183 graves from Stavros Military Cemetery into Mikra Military Cemetery and a re-estimate of costs following complications, 25th January 1921; minute by Lt Col T M Lowry, Deputy Director of Works, Italy, concerning the headstone position in Italy, 1st February 1921; translated correspondence between the British Consul in Gothenburg, Charles H R Baldwin, and Messrs Schmidts Begravningsbyra of Gothenburg, January 1921; table of estimated costs of headstones for Sweden, based on tender by Messrs Schmidts Begravningsbyra of Gothenburg.
|