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The Chairman welcomed Mr John Hogg, who had succeeded Captain Harold Campbell as a member of the Commission and was attending for the first time.
Matter arising from the Minutes of the 415th Meeting
Update on the political situation in Lebanon and safety of Commission personnel, with specific reference to the Area Superintendent and Horticultural Superintendent.
Report of the 460th Meeting of the Finance Committee
Refers to information regarding environmental conditions and the treatment of headstones in Egypt; details of the purchase of the premises at Nijmegen for the Netherlands and Germany Area Office; ex-gratia payments in connection with the death of a driver that had died during the floods at Tunisia at the unveiling of the Medjez-de-Bab Memorial; appointment of six members to the Permanent Maintenance Staff; erection of iron gates enclosing the entrances to the recesses containing the Rolls of Honour at the Delhi War Cemetery and Karachi War Cemetery; introduction of a new scales of pay system and additions to scales of pay for staff in the Anzac Agency; maintenance of war cemeteries in the Arras, Albert and Estaires Areas.
Purchase of premises for Area Office, Nijmegen, Netherlands
Refers to authorisation for Brigadier Croxton Sillery Vale, Regional Director, to complete the purchase of the premises for the Netherlands Area Office.
Membership of the Joint Committee: Appointment of Member
Appointment of Herr Ministerialdirektor Johannes Duntze of the Federal Ministry of the Interior as Official Member of the Commonwealth-German Joint Committee.
War Graves and Memorial in the West Indies and in Neighbouring Territories – A Paper for the Information of the Commission: Refers to report regarding the inspection of cemeteries and memorials in the Federated British West Indies, including visits to and details of the administration of war graves in Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Trinidad and St. Lucia.
Report concerning Agency Services undertaken by the Commission as authorised by the Supplemental Charters of 1921 and 1924, with specific reference to the maintenance of war graves to the same standards in foreign territory.
General Notes
Announcement regarding Canadian ceremonies that were to be held in the United Kingdom.
Other Business
Authorisation granted to James Alan Stewart to sign a contract with Messrs E. and I. Signlas for the construction of Phaleron War Cemetery and the Athens Memorial; statement by the Secretary concerning the increased estimated costs for the construction of the Ottawa Memorial; presentation of the 7th Volume of the Roll of Honour of Civilian War Dead Westminster Abbey; account of tour by Dr George Taylor, the Commission’s new Botanical Adviser and Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, to cemeteries in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, and information concerning his background; brief note regarding visit by the Regional Director, India, Pakistan and South-East Asia Region, to Kohima War Cemetery; maintenance of non-war services graves by the Commission on a repayment basis.
ATTENDEES:
General Sir John Crocker GCB KBE DSO MC (Vice-Chairman of the Commission)
Campbell Moodie (Representing the High Commission for Canada)
Major-General R. W. Knights OBE (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)
Major E. K. Hari Krishna (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
G. O. Sylvester MP
Sir Arthur Rucker KCMG CB CBE
Admiral Sir John Edelsten GCB GCVO CBE
Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest KBE CB
John Hogg TD
SECRETARY
W. J. Chalmers CBE
Also in attendance:
W. Wynne Mason MC (Assistant Secretary (External Relations))
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)
Brigadier N. E. V. Patterson OBE (Principal Deputy Director of Works)
W. F. W. Harding BSC (Chief Horticultural Officer
A. S. Laing
P. J. Cook |