| Content Note | Topics discussed:
Welcome to General Sir Charles Loewen, who had succeeded General Sir Cameron Nicholson as Adjutant-General, and Mr. Thomashoff, who was representing the High Commissioner for South Africa.
Approval and signature of the 396th Commission meeting minutes – Matters arising out of the minutes
a) Commonwealth-Iraq Committee
b) Remembrance Day Broadcasts.
Mention of visit by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh to Lae War Cemetery, New Guinea.
Retirement of General Sir Cameron Nicholson
Announcement of retirement of General Sir Cameron Nicholson from office as Adjutant-General at the end of October 1956, and that he had relinquished at the same time his Membership of the Commission.
Departure of Mr D.V. Serrurier
Announcement of departure of Mr D.V. Serrurier, who had represented the High Commissioner for South Africa at Meetings of the Commission for the previous eighteen months, and who had also been a Member of the Commonwealth-Italian Joint Committee.
Report of the 441st Finance Committee meeting
Item 1: Excess expenditure of £1,375 on the construction of Bone War Cemetery, Algeria.
Item 5: Work on the second phase of the major maintenance of the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres.
Item 7: Water supply for Gilgil War Cemetery, Kenya.
37th Annual Report and Accounts of the Commission
Resolution adopting the 37th Annual Report and accounts of the Commission.
Purchase of premises at Fleury-sur-Orne for new Area Office, Caen
Resolution approving the purchase by the Commission of the premises situated at Fleury-sur-Orne, No. 117 Route de Thury-Harcourt for the new Area Office, Caen, France.
Lodge Hill Crematorium: Memorial Panel for 1939-1945 War
Resolution approving the erection of a bronze Memorial Panel commemorating the names of Members of the Forces of the Commonwealth who died in the 1939-1945 War and were cremated at Lodge Hill Crematorium, Birmingham.
Report of the 29th Annual Meeting of the South African Agency
Refers to memorial to be erected in Palmietkuil South Native Cemetery, South Africa.
First meeting of the Commonwealth-German-French Joint Committee
Brief summary of the first meeting of the Commonwealth-German-French Joint Committee.
Refers to progress report for the quarter ended 30 September 1956.
56th Quarterly Report for the maintenance of war graves in the United Kingdom
Comment about increasing visitor numbers at the Runnymede Memorial.
General notes
Refers to Remembrance Day ceremonies and events, including Gardeners’ Service at Westminster Abbey, Solemn Requiem Mass at Cassino as well as Pilgrimage of the Airborne Forces Security Fund to Arnhem in September 1956.
Remembrance Day ceremonies at Plymouth and Chatham
Brief account of Remembrance Day ceremonies at naval memorials at Plymouth and Chatham.
Presentation of M.B.E. to Mr R.D. Hogg
Mentions that, on 30 October 1956, the British Ambassador in Brussels, Sir George Labouchere, had presented Mr R.D. Hogg, District Horticultural Officer, with the M.B.E. awarded to him in the Birthday Honours.
Tour of cemeteries in Scotland and Eastern Area, UK by Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest
Summary of tour of cemeteries in Scotland and the Commission’s Eastern Area of the United Kingdom district by Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest, K.B.E., C.B.
Death of Brigadier A.E. Armstrong
Refers to the death of Brigadier A.E. Armstrong, who had joined the Commission’s staff in 1948 and had been Area Superintendent in Germany.
Staff in Egypt
Mentions that a cable had been received from the Commission's Area Superintendent in Egypt, stating that the essential functions of the Commission were being carried on, although there was a temporary interruption of the work in the Canal Zone.
Petrol rationing
Mentions petrol rationing taking effect in the United Kingdom to reduce the Commission’s consumption of petrol by at least 10 per cent.
Date of next meeting scheduled for Thursday 20 December 1956 at 11:00am.
ATTENDEES:
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, G.C.B., D.S.O. (Vice-Chairman in the Chair)
E.J.B. Foxcroft, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for Australia)
J.G. Hale, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for New Zealand)
F.W. Thomashoff, Esq. (Representing the High Commissioner for South Africa)
Lieutenant-Colonel M.M. Singh (Representing the High Commissioner for India)
Captain S.M. Akhtar (Representing the High Commissioner for Pakistan)
I.B. Watt, Esq. (Representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies)
A.J. Isaac, Esq. (Representing the Minister of Works)
George Sylvester, Esq., M.P.
General Sir John Crocker, G.C.B., K.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.
Captain Sir Harold Campbell, G.C.V.O., D.S.O., R.N.
Sir Arthur Rucker, K.C.M.G., C.B., C.B.E.
Admiral Sir John Edelsten, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., C.B.E.
Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest, K.B.E., C.B.
General Sir Charles Loewen, K.C.B., K.B.E., D.S.O.
SECRETARY:
W.J. Chalmers, Esq., C.B.E.
ADVISERS:
Sir William Halcrow, M. Inst. C.E. (Consulting Engineer)
Sir Edward Maufe, Esq., R.A. (Chief Architect and Artistic Adviser)
Also in attendance:
W. Wynne Mason, Esq., M.C. (Assistant Secretary (External Relations))
A.K. Pallot, Esq. (Assistant Secretary (Finance and Establishments))
Major-General J.F.D. Steedman, C.B.E., M.C (Director of Works)
R.I. Mill, Esq. |