| Content Note | Topics covered:
Sir Robert Black, Mr B H J Lane and Mr F C Boyle
The Chairman welcomed Sir Robert Black on his appointment as a Member of the Commission, and Mr B. H. J. Lane, representative of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Mr F. C. Boyle, representative of the High Commissioner for Australia, who were attending a Commission Meeting for the first time.
General Sir John Anderson
Announcement concerning the promotion of Sir John Anderson to General and his appointment as Commandant of the Imperial Defence College.
Visit to War Cemeteries by the Royal Family
Report on the visit by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh to Addis Ababa War Cemetery, Asmara War Cemetery and Khartoum War Cemetery, and Prince Phillip’s visit to Labuan War Cemetery, Kanchanaburi War Cemetery and Chungkai War Cemetery.
Death of Mr F W Thomashoff
The death of Mr F. W. Thomashoff, former representative for the High Commissioner of South Africa, was reported.
Membership of the Commission
Announcement regarding the appointments of Mr Verner Wylie as a Member of the Commission, the retirement of Lord Spens, and appointment of a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George to Colonel Griffin, Regional Director of the Southern Region.
Matters Arising from the 477th Meeting of the Commission
Report on the representations made by the Canadian Ambassador, on behalf of all Heads of Mission in Cairo of the Participating Governments, to the United Arab Republic Foreign Minister and Permanent Head of the Foreign Ministry to drop the proposal concerning the removal of Commonwealth war burials from Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery and Alexandria (Chatby) War Memorial Cemetery; report on the continued difficulties encountered with the maintenance of Jerusalem War Cemetery and the Commission’s inability to regain control over the cemetery; approval of the Estimates 1965/66 and request for the Participating Governments’ grants; suggestion by Mr H. D. Morgan, Honorary Consulting Engineer, to use electro-osmosis to make the foundations of the Thiepval Memorial waterproof; arrangements to display the lamp presented by the Pope to the Commission at the Regional Headquarters in Rome;
Death of the Right Honourable Sir Winston Churchill
The death of Sir Winston Churchill, former Chairman and Member of the Commission between 1919 and 1921, was reported.
Report of the 520th Meeting of the Finance Committee
Granting of the usual annual authority to the Secretary and Director-General to appoint and employ staff; appointment of five members of staff to the Permanent Maintenance Staff; granting of the usual block authority on account of routine expenditure on normal services in the Financial Year 1965/66; expenditure on the supply of 1,000 inscribed bronze plaques indicating that the Commission was responsible for the construction and maintenance of Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials; expenditure to build a retaining wall and concrete stormwater drain at Labuan War Cemetery; expenditure on the elimination of dry rot in the Head Office building; expenditure on the construction of the premises for the Egypt Area Office within the boundaries of the land surrounding Heliopolis War Cemetery; expenditure on the publication of Part I of Volume VI of “Their Name LIveth”; increases in rates of pay of United Kingdom based non-manual staff; revision of overseas allowances for United Kingdom based non-manual and manual staff in the Northern Region.
Membership of the Finance Committee
Appointment of the High Commissioner for Pakistan as a Member of the Finance Committee.
Commonwealth-Foreign Joint Committees
Appointment of Mr R. Houliston, Second Secretary, British Embassy, Copenhagen, as Commonwealth Member of the Commonwealth-Danish Joint Committee; appointment of His Excellency Sir Patrick Reilly, United Kingdom Ambassador at Paris, and His Excellency Mr R. L. Hutchens, Nez Zealand Ambassador at Paris, as Commonwealth Honorary Members of the Commonwealth-French Joint Committee; appointment of His Excellency Monsieur Francois Seydoux, French Ambassador at Bonn, as French Honorary Member of the Commonwealth-German-French Joint Committee; appointment of His Excellency Mr G. G. Crean, Canadian Ambassador at Rome, as Commonwealth Honorary Member and Mr Charles Craw, Deputy High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, as Commonwealth Official Member of the Commonwealth-Italian Joint Committee.
Marking and maintenance of Commonwealth War Graves in the UK – Graves not within the Commission’s Control: Report on the marking and maintenance of Commonwealth war graves in the United Kingdom that were not within the Commission’s control; approval of the classification of the 342 war graves enumerated in List No. 2 of war graves in the United Kingdom recommended for classification as “not within the Commission’s control”.
Unmaintainable graves: Duxhurst (Lady Henry Somerset Homes) Burial Ground, Reigate, Surrey
Approval of the proposed commemoration of one Commonwealth war burial in Duxhurst (Lady Henry Somerset Homes) Burial Ground on a memorial headstone, bearing a suitable superscription, that was to be erected adjacent to the Second World War graves in Reigate (Redstone) Cemetery.
Reports from United Kingdom, Northern, Southern and Eastern Regions, Canadian Agency and Anzac Agency for the Pacific Region for the Quarter Ended 31st December 1964
Accounts of vandalism at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial and the Chatham Naval Memorial; comments concerning the continued recovery of remains from the battlefields of both World Wars; details concerning the removal of two Works Officers from Ambon War Cemetery and the temporary halt of construction due to the political situation in the region.
General Notes
Details of the Australia Day Service at St. Clement Danes Church attended by the Secretary; account of visit by Mr Jack, the Regional Director of the Northern Region, to Gibraltar, which included a meeting with Major Simpson, Honorary Secretary of the Gibraltar Agency, and inspection of North Front Cemetery; report of Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest’s tour in West Africa, which included visits to Christiansborg War Cemetery, Kano Township Christian Cemetery and Accra Cemetery; details of Brigadier K. F. Daniell’s, Director of Works, visit to nearly all cemeteries in the Eastern Region, Labuan War Cemetery, Rabual (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, Lae War Cemetery, Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, and the war cemeteries at Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane in the Pacific Region; details of forthcoming events, including the 50th anniversary of Anzac Day, an Australian and New Zealand Pilgrimage to Gallipoli, a British Pilgrimage to Gallipoli and Macedonia, and the 4th Meeting of the Commonwealth-Belgian Joint Committee.
Other Business
The deaths of Lieutenant-Colonel A. F. Menzies, former Assistant Director of Works in Greece and Area Superintendent at Salonika, and Mr R. C. Walker, who had served in the Finance Department in France, were reported; decision not to erect a Cross of Sacrifice in Gander Cemetery owing to costs; details of a letter of appreciation from the Returned Sailors’, Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia to the Commission; details about the Vice-Chairman’s forthcoming visit to Turkey and Greece, which was to include trips to cemeteries and memorials on the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Haidar Pasha Memorial.
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 F. C. Boyle (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)
Lieutenant-Commander S. Haque (Representing the High Commissioner for Pakistan)
Mr B. H. J. Lane (Representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies)
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
Sir Robert Black GCMG OBE
SECRETARY
Mr W. J. Chalmers CBE (Director-General)
ADVISER
Sir Edward Maufe RA FRIBA MA (Chief Architect and Artistic Adviser)
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 A. E. V. Shephard |