| Content Note | Topics discussed:
Approval and signature of the 385th Commission meeting minutes.
Discussion regarding appointment of two Assistant Secretaries to the Commission following the retirement of the Secretary and the Principal Assistant Secretary, with resolution for Mr W. Wynne Mason, M.C. and Lieutenant-Commander A.K. Pallot, Royal Navy (retired) to be Assistant Secretaries to the Commission with effect from 23rd April 1956.
Matters arising out of the 385th Commission meeting
a) Unveiling of the Tower Hill Memorial
b) First Meeting of the Commonwealth-Italian Joint Committee
c) Date of publication for the 36th Annual Report for 30 December 1955
d) Brief account of Remembrance Day ceremonies and events.
Report of the 430th Finance Committee meeting
Item 2 related to the appointment of Assistant Secretaries to the Commission.
Item 4 recommended expenditure on the construction of Kranji War Cemetery and Memorial, Singapore. The work was expected to be completed by June 1957.
Item 8 referred to expenditure for the replacement of headstones in Malta where it was felt a mistake had been made in the past to use local Maltese stone instead of marble from Italy.
Item 11 related to the erection of the Cross of Sacrifice at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery, Germany.
Item 12 concerned the supply and erection of name panels for the Cassino Memorial, Italy.
Item 14 recommended expenditure on the construction of Ranchi War Cemetery, India.
Membership of the Finance Committee
Resolution for the appointment of Sir Arthur Nevil Rucker, K.C.M.G., C.B., C.B.E. as a Member of the Finance Committee.
Progress report for the quarter ended 30 September 1955
Mentions that the Commission took note of the paper submitted.
Storage Accommodation for Western Area Office, Shrewsbury
Resolution for authority to be granted to Peter Trevelyan Thomson, Superintendent, Western Area, to sign on behalf of the Commission the Agreement with the British Transport Commission relating to storage accommodation at the station yard Shrewsbury, at a quarterly rental of £6 exclusive of rates.
General notes
Mentions the United Kingdom Ambassador in Paris had made a tour of cemeteries in the French District and had presented the British Empire Medal to Travelling Superintendent Gardener H.J, Jarvis; mention the annual pilgrimage to Arnhem (Oosterbeek) War Cemetery had taken place on 17 September 1955 and a service had been held at the cemetery; mention of visit of ships of the Royal Navy to the 1914-1918 War Cemetery at Taranto.
Portsmouth Naval Memorial: Unveiling and Additional Panels
Account of unveiling of additional panels at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial on 6 November 1955 by the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, Admiral Sir George Creasy.
Civilian War Dead rolls of honour
Mentions that six rolls would be handed over to the Dean of Westminster for safekeeping at Westminster Abbey and the binding was carried out by Roger Powell. Also mentions arrangements for relatives to obtain copies of pages and the publication of the seventh roll.
Jerusalem War Cemetery
Refers to an article which appeared in "The Times" that morning reporting that agreement had been reached by the Governments of Israel and Jordan for the clearing of mines from the British War Cemetery on Mount Scopus.
60th Division Memorial, Jerusalem
Explanation of the background of the 60th Division Memorial, Jerusalem in light of a paragraph had appeared in a recent issue of "The Times" on the subject of the memorial, in which the Commission had been criticised for proposing to demolish the memorial.
Unveiling to the East Africa Memorial
Mentions that General Sir Alan Cunningham had accepted the Commission's invitation to unveil the East Africa Memorial in Nairobi on 21 January 1956.
Unveiling of a Memorial in York Minister to Fallen Airmen 1939-1945
The Chairman reported that he had represented the Commission at the ceremony of unveiling by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, on 1 November 1955, of a memorial in York Minster to airmen who lost their lives in the 1939-1945 War.
Commonwealth-Japanese War Graves Agreement
Mentions that the Commonwealth-Japanese War Graves Agreement was signed in Tokyo on 21 September 1955.
Addis Ababa Cemetery: Commemoration of Ethiopian War Dead
Mention of plaque to be erected at Addis Ababa War Cemetery to commemorate the sacrifice of the Ethiopian people during the Second World War, with the text of the inscription on the plaque recorded in the minutes.
Annual Ceremony at El Alamein War Cemetery
Brief account of annual ceremony at El Alamein War Cemetery, Egypt on 23 October 1955.
Ceremony at French Plot in Brookwood Military Cemetery
Brief account of ceremony at French plot on All Saints’ Day in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey.
Visit to the Anzac Agency by the Vice-Chairman
Mention that the Vice-Chairman Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, G.C.B., D.S.O. was planning to visit the Anzac Agency of the Commission at the end of the following month and would therefore be absent from the Meetings in January, February and March.
Date of next meeting scheduled for Thursday 15 December 1955 at 11:00am.
ATTENDEES:
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, G.C.B., D.S.O. (Vice-Chairman in the Chair)
Frederic Hudd, Esq., C.B.E. (Representing the High Commissioner for Canada)
Sir Edwin McCarthy, C.B.E. (Representing the High Commissioner for Australia)
J.G. Hale, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for New Zealand)
D.V. Serrurier, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for South Africa)
K.R. Narayanan, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for India)
Captain M. Jan (Representing the High Commissioner for Pakistan)
D.K. Malone, Esq., M.B.E. (Representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies)
General Sir Robert Gordon-Finlayson, K.C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O., D.L.
Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, V.C., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.L.
The Rt. Hon. Sir Patrick Spens, K.B.E., Q.C., M.P.
General Sir Harold Campbell, G.C.V.O., D.S.O., R.N.
Sir Arthur Rucker, K.C.M.G., C.B., C.B.E.
ADVISERS:
Sir Edward Maufe, Esq., R.A. (Chief Architect and Artistic Adviser)
SECRETARY:
F. Higginson, Esq., C.B., C.M.G.
Also in attendance:
F.C. Sillar, Esq., C.B.E. (Principal Assistant Secretary)
W.J. Chalmers, Esq., C.B.E. (Assistant Secretary)
Major-General J.F.D. Steedman, C.B.E., M.C (Director of Works)
H.L. Simmons, Esq. LL. B (Legal Adviser)
O.D. Holt, Esq., (Principal, Secretarial Branch) |