| Content Note | Topics discussed:
Death of Sir Alexander Cobbe; letters received from Lady Maddocks (sympathy resolution), Monsieur Hymans (regret at missing Ploegsteert unveiling), and Captain Menzies (cemetery photographs from Macedonia).
Report of Memorial Service at Etaples which was jointly held with the British Legion alongside Montreuil ceremonies and deemed highly successful.
Commission representation at events in Havrincourt, Waereghem American Cemetery, Tournai Communal Cemetery (Polish delegation), St George’s Church Ypres (plaque unveiling), Bellicourt Cemetery (wreaths), Albert (Basilique consecration), Guillemont (memorial unveiling), and others.
Vice-Chairman’s reports on address to American soldiers’ mothers and also comments on response to press exaggerations on Commission costs.
Report Of The 200th Meeting Of The Finance Committee
Covers several topics including: monument treatment in London; cost-effective name commemoration in Aden; contractor claim rejections; subsistence allowance alignment with Civil Service.
High Wycombe Cemetery
Resolution providing exclusive rights of burial to the Commission for a war grave situate in High Wycombe Cemetery.
Employment Of Sons And Daughters Of Commission Staff In France
Refers to Board of Education concerns over gardener recruitment; nationality issues at age 21; tension with Lord Plumer’s views; proposed solutions include vocational training and Army enlistment. No decision taken, and further discussion with Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd planned.
Request For Maintenance Of A Private Memorial
Request from Mr Marsden-Smedley declined, as French regulations prohibited memorials below divisional level.
Alleged Removal Of Bodies From Belgium
Refers to Parliamentary question addressed by the Commission’s Chairman, the Rt. Hon Mr Thomas Shaw CBE MP. No evidence of the removals had been found.
Russian Graves In Gallipoli
Mentions that the Commission was unable to assist Union of White Russians, as it was outside scope of its Royal Charter.
Egypt
Update on progress of War Graves Convention pending treaty with Great Britain.
Indian Cemeteries
Mentions that Rudyard Kipling’s inscriptions had been approved for Iraq sites in connection with Hindu and Muslim casualties. Also mentions Basra Memorial to include registers for previously unnamed Indian soldiers. Nawab of Bhopal expressed gratitude for name registers.
Staff Of The Commission
Refers to the termination of Captain R.J.M. McKerrell, Draughtsman, United Kingdom.
Cemetery And Memorial Registers
Provides figures: Total printed now 974,897, including Gold Coast, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
General Inscription On The Memorial To The Missing, Arras
The inscription location had been approved and agreed with the Architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Other Matters
Mentions Commissioner photographs requested for Board Room, and brief return to gardener employment topic.
Attendees:
Major-General Sir Fabian Ware, K.C.V.O., K.B.E., C.B., C.M.G. (Vice-Chairman, in the Chair)
Colonel W.W. Chitty, C.M.G., C.I.E. (Representing the Secretary of State for India)
Colonel Sir George Badgerow, C.M.G., C.V.O., M.D., F.R.C.S. (Canada)
Thomas Trumble, Esq., C.M.G., C.B.E. (Representing the High Commissioner for Australia)
Rudyard Kipling, Esq.
Lieut.-General Sir George Macdonogh, G.B.E., K.C.B., K.C.M.G. (in the Chair)
Admiral Sir Morgan Singer, K.C.B., K.C.V.O.
The Rt. Hon. Lord Stanley, M.C., M.P.
J.J. Lawson, Esq., M.P.
General Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd, K.C.B., K.C.M.G.
There were also present:
Lieut.-Colonel Sir Frederic Kenyon, G.B.E., K.C.B.
Lieut.-Colonel C.P. Oswald, O.B.E. (Assistant Secretary, Finance)
Lieut.-Colonel H.F. Robinson, C.M.G. (Director of Works)
Captain E.J. King, M.C.
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