| Content Note | Topics discussed:
Appointment of Adjutant-General to the Forces General Sir Cameron Nicholson as a Member of the Commission and for General Sir John Crocker, G.C.B., K.B.E., D.S.O., M.C. to take the place of the late Sir Herbert Ellissen on the Commission’s membership.
Approval, amendment and signing of the minutes for the 364th Commission meeting and matters arising from the minutes:
A) Unveiling of the Runnymede Memorial: Path up northward slope.
B) Unveiling ceremonies in New Guinea and New Britain.
C) Merchant Navy, Tower Hill.
D) Isolated burials in local cemeteries, Cyprus.
Address by the Moderator-Elect of the Church of Scotland
Mentions the address by the Moderator-Elect of the Church of Scotland the Reverend R.D. Jarvis, D.D. given on Remembrance Day in Wellington Church, Glasgow about the visit to his son’s grave in Italy with his wife.
Letter from The Netherlands Ambassador in London
Refers to a letter from the Netherlands Ambassador which had appeared in The Times and Daily Telegraph on 14 December 1953, giving the Commission full credit for the lay-out, construction and maintenance of the British Commonwealth War Cemeteries in the Netherlands.
Jerusalem War Cemetery
Refers to the issue regarding access to Jerusalem War Cemetery and that this was being looked into by the United Nations.
Visit to Italy by Major-General W.G. Stevens
Mention of letter received from Major-General W.G. Stevens regarding his visit to Italy when he signed the Commonwealth-Italian War Graves Agreement.
Official luncheon in Paris given by the Ministre Des Anciens Combattants
Summary of official luncheon in Paris given by the Ministre des Anciens Combattants to which Secretary-General (Mr. Sillar) and Regional Secretary-General (Brigadier Vale) of the Commonwealth-French Joint Committee had been invited to meet the French Members of the Committee.
Report of the 409th Finance Committee meeting and annual estimates 1954-1955
Mentions the estimate recommended by the Finance Committee for the year 1954-1955 was shown in detail and the three Schedules were laid on the table.
Item 7 concerned the construction of Brussels Town Cemetery.
Item 8 referred to the proposed re-organisation of the staff in the Establishment Department at Head Office.
Item 13 indicated that work was about to begin on the Bayeux Memorial.
Item 14 recommended acceptance of a tender for construction of Delhi War Cemetery.
Flying of Flags at Etaples Military Cemetery
Discussion regarding the Commission’s policy for the flying of flags at cemeteries, particularly at Etaples Military Cemetery, France.
Plymouth Naval Memorial Site
Resolution for Deed of Grant of Licence from Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the War Department relating to the land forming the site of the 1914-18 and 1939-45 Naval Memorials on Plymouth Hoe, United Kingdom.
General notes
Mentions Remembrance Day ceremonies included in the paper submitted to the Commission.
Principal Deputy Director of Works tour in Egypt and East Africa
Report of tour by the Principal Deputy Director of Works Brigadier N.E.V. Patterson, O.B.E., of Egypt and East Africa, including comments about the work and maintenance of cemeteries in Kenya as well as progress of work at El Alamein.
Talk by Tasman Millington, Area Superintendent, Gallipoli
Account of the Commission’s work in Gallipoli given by the Area Superintendent, Gallipoli, Tasman Millington, Esq., O.B.E., including comments about using a motorboat to reach the Commission’s cemeteries in the area.
Date of next meeting scheduled for Thursday 21 January 1954 at 11:00am.
ATTENDEES:
Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, V.C., K.C.B., D.L. (Vice-Chairman in the Chair)
Frederic Hudd, Esq., C.B.E. (Representing the High Commissioner for Canada)
W.H. Bunning, Esq., M.C. (Representing the High Commissioner for Australia)
W. Wynne-Mason, Esq., M.C. (Representing the High Commissioner for New Zealand)
C.H. Torrance, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for South Africa)
D.K. Malone, Esq. (Representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies)
General Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, G.C.B., D.S.O.
Sir Patrick Spens, K.B.E., Q.C., M.P.
General Sir John Crocker, G.C.B., K.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.
ADVISERS:
Edward Maufe, Esq., R.A., F.R.I.B.A. (Chief Architect and Artistic Adviser)
SECRETARY:
F. Higginson, Esq., C.M.G.
Also in attendance:
F.C. Sillar, Esq., C.B.E. (Principal Assistant Secretary)
W.J. Chalmers, Esq. (Assistant Secretary)
Major-General J.F.D. Steedman, C.B.E., M.C. (Director of Works)
Brigadier N.E.V. Patterson, O.B.E. (Principal Deputy Director of Works)
H.L. Simmons, Esq. LL.B (Legal Adviser)
O.D. Holt, Esq. (Principal, Secretarial Branch)
Brigadier C.S. Vale, C.B.E., M.C. (Chief Administrative Officer, French District)
Brigadier S. Collingwood, O.B.E., M.C. (Chief Administrative Officer, Southern European District)
T. Millington, Esq., O.B.E. (Area Superintendent, Gallipoli) |