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The Chairman welcomed Mr L. Fortescue, representative of the High Commissioner for Australia, who was attending a Commission Meeting for the first time.
Announcement concerning the departure of Sir Eric Harrison, the High Commission for Australia, who was returning to Australia.
Matters Arising from the 476th Meeting of the Commission
Update on the situation relating to the proposed removal of Alexandria (Hadra) War Cemetery and Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery, including the Commission’s Participating Governments continued opposition to the proposal; publication of the 45th Annual Report; recommended provision of funds for work in Eastern Canada; details of the Gardeners’ Service held at St. George’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey; report of Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest’s visit to Damascus War Cemetery, Delhi War Cemetery, Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Chungkai War Cemetery, Kranji War Cemetery and Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery.
Estimates 1965/66
Details and approval of the annual Estimate of Expenditure for 1964/65 and 1965/66, with specific reference to increases in staff costs, expenditure for the rehabilitation and construction in the Iraq and Egypt Areas, Head Office and each Region and Agency, travelling expenses, administrative expenses, horticultural maintenance and structural maintenance.
Report of the 519th Meeting of the Finance Committee
Appointment of five members of staff to the Permanent Maintenance Staff; expenditure relating to the modification of the design of Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery; expenditure on the construction of Mosul War Cemetery; expenditure on the water supply and construction of a gardeners’ quarters at Deir el Belah War Cemetery; expenditure for structural maintenance at the Ottawa Memorial; promotion to Higher Executive Officer of two members of the staff and appointment of one new member as an Assistant Architect; details concerning the employment of staff during 1965/66 and annual authority for the application of rates of pay and allowances; provisions for the vehicle replacement programme; memorandum concerning the survey of the Thiepval Memorial by Mr Morgan, Honorary Consulting Engineer, and Mr Butterworth, a brick specialist of the Building Research Station.
Commonwealth-Foreign Joint Committees
Appointment of Monsieur L. C. Platteau, Directeur-General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Belgian Official Member of the Commonwealth-Belgian Joint Committee; appointment of Monsieur le Docteur Jean Simon Cayla, Inspecteur General de la Sante Publique et de la Population, as French Official Member and Commodore M. M. Hussain, Naval Adviser and Head of Military Mission of the High Commissioner for Pakistan in London, as Commonwealth Official Member of the Commonwealth-French Joint Committee; appointment of His Excellency Signor Gastone Guidotti, Italian Ambassador in London, as Italian Honorary Member of the Commonwealth-Italian Joint Committee.
The Malta Agency of the Commission
Replacement of the Malta Agency by a Malta Office, which was to be administered as part of the Italy Area in the Southern Region and function under the control of an Honorary Supervisor.
Unmaintainable graves in the United Kingdom: Little Chart (St. Mary) Churchyard
Approval of the proposed commemoration of one Commonwealth war burial in Little Chart (St. Mary) Churchyard, as the headstone marking the grave was destroyed by a bomb during the Second World War, on a memorial headstone bearing a suitable inscription that was to be erected in the Second World War graves plot in Lenham Cemetery.
Unmaintainable graves in the United Kingdom: Fareham (Holy Trinity) Churchyard
Approval of the proposed commemoration of two Commonwealth war burials in Fareham (Holy Trinity) Churchyard, after the churchyard had entered into a neglected condition, on two memorial headstones that were to be erected adjacent to the group of Second World War graves in Fareham Cemetery.
Unmaintainable graves in the United Kingdom: Liverpool (St. James) Cemetery
Approval of the proposed commemoration of 10 Commonwealth war graves in Liverpool (St. James) Cemetery, which had been closed to further burials and was to be converted into an open space, on an existing Screen Wall at Liverpool (Anfield) Cemetery.
Unmaintainable graves in the United Kingdom: Hipswell (St. John) Churchyard
Approval of the proposed commemoration of 10 Commonwealth war graves in Hipswell (St. John) Churchyard by the erection of a memorial within the war graves plot in the churchyard owing to a clearance and levelling scheme.
Unmaintainable graves in the United Kingdom: Mullaghglass Old Graveyard
Approval of the proposed commemoration of one Commonwealth war burial in Mullaghglass Old Graveyard on a memorial headstone bearing a suitable superscription that was to be erected in Belfast City Cemetery.
Nicholson Cemetery, India
Report on the proposed removal of 100 Commonwealth war graves from Nicholson Cemetery, which had been inadequately maintained, to Delhi War Cemetery.
Rawalpindi Cemetery, India
Approval of the proposed regroupment of 257 Commonwealth First World War burials from Plot Y in Rawalpindi Cemetery, which was in poor condition and contained different types of grave markers, into the Second World War graves plot in the same cemetery.
Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery – modifications to design
Approval of the proposed modifications to the design of Poznan Old Garrison Cemetery, which included replacing the turf with a paved terrace flanked by steps.
Mosul War Cemetery, Iraq
Approval of the proposed removal of six Second World War burials from Plot 1 to Plot 2 in Mosul War Cemetery, owing to the construction of a new road across the front of the cemetery, and revision of the cemetery’s design, including the removal of the walls dividing the First World War Hindu and Muslim Plots from the rest of the cemetery, and relevelling work as part of a horticultural scheme.
Reports from United Kingdom, Northern, Southern and Eastern Regions, Canadian Agency and Anzac Agency for the Pacific Region for the Quarter Ended 30th September 1964
Report of the ceremonies and pilgrimages commemorating the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, with specific reference to Lord Carew, Chairman of the British Legion, who led many of the pilgrimages; details of General Sir John Anderson’s visit to Gilgil War Cemetery and Ma’ala Cemetery in East Africa, and Kranji War Cemetery, Taiping Cemetery, Kuala Lumpur (Cheras Road) War Cemetery, Labuan War Cemetery, Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery and Stanley Military Cemetery in the Eastern Region.
General Notes
Report on the visit by the Chairman and Colonel Woodgate to burial sites in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as the Public Works Office in Dublin; details of the Admiral of the Fleet Lord Mountbatten’s visit to war cemeteries in Sierra Leone and Ghana; presentation of a bronze lamp from the Pope to the Commission as a gift for Cassino War Cemetery.
Other Business
Recommended appointment of Sir Robert Black, former Governor of Hong Kong, as a Member of the Commission; account of the Secretary’s visit to Rome for the purpose of renewing contact with Colonel Griffin, Regional Director of the Southern Region, and his tour in Northern Scotland; decision to retain four Commission headstones marking war graves in Shankill Cemetery, which had been converted into a Garden of Rest, to transfer a fifth Commission headstone to a more suitable site in the cemetery and to erect Commission headstones over two unmarked war graves.
ATTENDEES:
Admiral Sir Guy Grantham GCB CBE DSO (Vice-Chairman of the Commission)
Colonel Alan Chambers DSO OBE (Representing the High Commissioner for Canada)
Mr L. Fortescue (Representing the High Commissioner for Australia)
Mr M. J. C. Templeton (Representing the High Commissioner for New Zealand)
Mr D. S. Preller (Representing the Ambassador of South Africa)
Major V. K. Dandekar (Representing the High Commissioner for India)
Mr J. W. T. Pritchard (Representing the Minister of Public Building and Works)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore GCB DSO
The Right Honourable Lord Spens KBE
Sir Arthur Rucker KCMG CB CBE
Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest KBE CB
Mr David Griffiths MP
Lieutenant-General Sir John Anderson KCB CBE DSO
SECRETARY
Mr W. J. Chalmers CBE (Director-General)
ADVISER
Mr H. D. Morgan MSc (Eng.) MICE (Consulting Engineer)
Also in attendance:
Mr W. Wynne Mason MC ((Assistant Secretary) Director of External Relations and Records)
Mr A. K. Pallot ((Assistant Secretary) Director of Finance and Establishments)
Brigadier K. F. Daniell CBE (Director of Works)
Mr H. L. Simmons LLB (Legal Adviser and Solicitor)
Mr W. F. W. Harding OBE BSc (Hort.) (Chief Horticultural Officer)
Mr T. A. E. Gibson
Mr A. E. V. Shephard |