Record

Unique IDCWGC/2/2/1/410
File NumberCM 3/1/78
TitleCOMMISSION MEETING NO.410 - January 1958
Multimedia

72\41186b-1961-4f3f-8737-0e083fd66aea.pdf

DescriptionMinutes of the 410th Meeting of the Commission
Content NoteTopics covered:

Matters arising from the Minutes of the 409th Meeting
a) Acknowledgements received from Mr Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, and M. Vincent Auriel, former President of France, regarding the Commission’s 38th Annual Report
b) Arrangements for the unveiling of the Rangoon Memorial, which was to be carried out by General Sir Francis Festing and attended by representatives of all Commonwealth Governments, the Prime Minister of Burma and all Regiments and Corps commemorated on the memorial.

Chairman of the Commission
Refers to the appointment of Mr Christopher Soames as Chairman of the Commission and Secretary of State for War, with comments from Mr John Hare who left the position to become Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

New Year Honours
Announcement concerning Head Gardener E. J. Attree of the United Kingdom Region and formerly of the French Region, who was awarded the British Empire Medal.

Report of the 454th Meeting of the Finance Committee
Report of major maintenance of Guillemont Road Cemetery under special contract with Entreprise Reynes, including the repair of the surrounding wall and proposed lowering of the wall’s height or replacement with hedging; appointment of two Gardener-Caretakers and two Gardeners to the Commission’s Permanent Maintenance Staff following the retirement of Brigadier Collingwood and amalgamation of the French and North West European Regions; completion of the three remaining cemeteries in South Africa that required architectural treatment; expenditures relating to the printing and publishing of Cemetery and Memorial Registers; publication of the Third Part of Volume II of “Their Name Liveth” which would cover cemeteries in the Far East, including Taukkyan War Cemetery and Rangoon Memorial.

Weston Mill Cemetery, Plymouth
Exclusive rights of burial for two war graves, one from the First World War, the other from the Second World War, in Weston Mill Cemetery, Plymouth, obtained by the Commission.

Regional and Area Organisation
Report regarding the amalgamation of the French and North West European Regions and reorganisation of the United Kingdom Region with the appointments of Brigadier Vale as Regional Director of Norther Region at Arras, Colonel Griffin as Regional Director of Southern Region at Rome, and Brigadier Agnew as Regional Director of the United Kingdom Region at Wooburn Green.

General Notes
Comments from Mr Andrews, the retiring South African Ambassador in Paris, regarding the care given by the Commission to South Africa’s National Memorial and graves of South African war dead in France; brief account of visit by Mr Wynne Mason to Khartoum, Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika, South Africa, and Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland; revision of the film showing the Commission’s work to include more recent footage and arrangements for a showing following a Commission Meeting.

ATTENDEES:
General Sir John Crocker GCB KBE DSO MC (Vice-Chairman of the Commission)
Campbell Moodie (Representing the High Commission for Canada)
E. J. B. Foxcroft (Representing the High Commissioner for Australia)
E. A. Broadridge (Representing the High Commissioner for New Zealand)
F. W. Thomashoff (Representing the High Commissioner for South Africa)
Brigadier M. G. Dewan (Representing the High Commissioner for India)
Captain S. M. Akhtar (Representing the High Commissioner for Pakistan)
S. H. Field (Representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies)
A. J. Isaac (Representing the Minister of Works)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore GCB DSO
The Right Hon. Sir Patrick Spens KBE GC MP
G. O. Sylvester MP
Captain Sir Harold Campbell GCVO DSO RN
Sir Arthur Rucker KCMG CB CBE
Admiral Sir John Edelsten GCB GCVO CBE

SECRETARY
W. J. Chalmers CBE

ADVISERS
Sir Edward Maufe RA FRIBA (Chief Architect and Artistic Adviser)

Also in attendance:
A. K. Pallot (Assistant Secretary (Finance and Establishments))
Major-General J. F. D. Steedman CBE MC (Director of Works)
H. L. Simmons LLB (Legal Adviser)
W. F. W. Harding BSc (Chief Horticultural Officer)
A. S. Laing
P. N. Dolan
R. I. Mill
Date16/01/1958
Extent1 file
CollectionArchive
CategoryMeeting Notes
ArchNotePlease note that the downloadable document is the final version of the Committee Meeting minutes. Additional information, including the verbatim minutes and subsidiary reports, may be available in the physical file.
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