| Content Note | Topics covered:
Colonel Sir Richard Glyn
The Chairman welcomed Colonel Sir Richard Glyn, Member of Parliament for North Dorset and successor to Lord Spens as a Member of the Commission, and Major B. K. Sen, representative of the Indian High Commissioner in London, who were attending a Commission Meeting for the first time.
Visits to War Cemeteries by the Royal Family
Account of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother’s visit to Becklingen War Cemetery.
Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith
The deaths of Admiral Sir Martin Dunbar-Nasmith, former Vice-Chairman and Member of the Commission, and the Right Honourable Lord Lawson of Beamish, former Member of the Commission and Finance Committee, were reported.
Queen’s Birthday Honours
Bestowment of the knighthood on The Honourable Sir Alexander Downer, High Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Australia in London; appointment of an OBE to Lieutenant-Colonel J. A. Woodgate, Regional Director, United Kingdom Region; awarding of the BEM to Mr L. H. Parry, Area Supervisor, Queensland, Anzac Agency.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore
Announcement regarding the retirement of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, former Vice-Chairman and Member of the Commission.
Matters arising from the 479th Meeting of the Commission
Report on the Commission’s attempt to dissuade the United Arab Republic from removing Alexandria (Hadra) War Memorial Cemetery and Alexandria (Chatby) Military and War Memorial Cemetery; proposal to train Commission gardeners to go into Jerusalem War Cemetery under the aegis of the United Nations to carry out horticultural and maintenance work at the cemetery; discussion concerning the use of fibre-glass instead of vitreous-enamelled steel for the Commission’s new roadside direction signs; inclusion of provisions protecting the Commission’s interests, namely those concerning war graves located in cemeteries in Manchester, in the Bill that became the Manchester Corporation Act, 1965; report on the Vice-Chairman’s visit to West Africa, with specific reference to arrangements for the supervision of the Commission’s work in Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Ghana and Sudan, and information about the condition of cemeteries and memorials located in those countries.
Report of the 522nd Meeting of the Finance Committee
Submission of the Accounts of the Commission for the year ended 31st March 1965; recommended appointment of seven members of staff to the Permanent Maintenance Staff; recommended expenditure on maintenance at Mazargues Cemetery Extension; excess expenditure relating to the construction of Ambon War Cemetery and the Ambon Memorial; increases in rates of pay of United Kingdom based manual staff; discussion regarding a report on Special Economy Measures that had been adopted in the House of Commons to reduce Government expenditure and its implications on the Commission’s work.
46th Annual Report and Accounts of the Commission
Details of the Accounts for 1964/65, which consisted of a Summary of Receipts and Payments and a Statement of Expenditure; further information concerning the Summary of Receipts and Payments, including expenditure on General Purposes (the Commission’s own work) and for Special and Agency Purposes; adoption of the Report and Statement of Accounts.
Commonwealth-Foreign Joint Committees
Appointment of His Excellency Herr Herbert Blankenhorn, German Ambassador in London, as German Honorary Member of the Commonwealth-German-French Joint Committee; appointment of Mr T. J. Arcand, First Secretary, Canadian Embassy, Copenhagen, as Commonwealth Member of the Commonwealth-Danish Joint Committee.
Marking and maintenance of Commonwealth War Graves in the UK – Graves not within the Commission’s Control: Approval of the classification of the 411 war graves enumerated in List No. 4 of war graves in the United Kingdom recommended for classification as “not within the Commission’s control”.
Unmaintainable graves in the United Kingdom: Billinghay (St Michael) Church Cemetery
Approval of the proposed commemoration of three Commonwealth war burials in Billinghay (St. Michael) Church Cemetery on a memorial adjacent to the Second World War graves plot in Coningsby Cemetery.
The Rangoon Memorial
Approval of the proposed commemoration of 482 officers and men of the Burma Forces who died during the Second World War and have no known grave by the inscription of their names on new bronze panels that were to be fixed to the Rangoon Memorial.
Agira Canada War Cemetery, Sicily
Arrangements for structural repairs at Agira Canadian War Cemetery, including the catchwater drains, stonework and terrace, which had been damaged due to settlement cracks.
Khanaqin War Cemetery, Iraq
Approval of the proposed erection of a memorial in Khanaqin War Cemetery in place of the existing headstones marking the graves, which had not been constructed and were difficult to maintain, and subsequent commemoration of these war burials on a memorial that was to be erected in Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery.
Stone of Remembrance in Australia – Sydney War Cemetery – Modifications to Design
Approval of the proposed modifications to the design of Sydney War Cemetery, which was to incorporate a Stone of Remembrance.
Villanova Canadian, Sangro River and Meldola War Cemeteries
Proposals concerning modifications to the design of Villanova Canadian War Cemetery, Sangro River War Cemetery and Meldola War Cemetery.
Unmaintainable Graves – Kenya: The Molo Military Grave
Arrangements to commemorate the Molo Military Grave in Kenya on a memorial headstone with a suitable explanatory inscription in the Second World War graves plot in Nakuru European Cemetery.
Reports from United Kingdom, Northern, Southern and Eastern Regions, Canadian Agency and Anzac Agency for the Pacific Region for the Quarter Ended 30th June 1965
Comments regarding the number of visitors to cemeteries and memorials in the United Kingdom; account of The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh’s visit to Berlin War Cemetery; recount of the special Dunkirk Veterans’ pilgrimage on the 25th anniversary of the evacuation; details of the visit by Denis Healey, the Commission’s Chairman, to Tobruk War Cemetery, the construction of a new tarmac at Damascus War Cemetery, the visit by the Anzac Pilgrimage to Gallipoli and two wreath-laying ceremonies at El Alamein War Cemetery; report of the motor accident involving Mr Forester, Regional Director of the Eastern Region, and Mr Hebden, Regional Horticultural Officer for the Eastern Region; provision of funds by the Canadian Government for the improvement of Veterans’ Plots in Canada; account of the Duke of Gloucester’s participation in the Anzac Day ceremony at Canberra.
General Notes
Brief account of a Canadian ceremony held at Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery; details of the Chairman’s visit to Kviberg Cemetery; account of the High Commissioner for New Zealand’s visit to Bari War Cemetery; details of General Sir John Anderson’s visit to cemeteries in Malta, Tripoli, Benghazi and Cyprus during a Mediterranean tour, with specific reference to the disappointing condition of Wayne’s Keep Military Cemetery and excellent condition of Benghazi War Cemetery and Tripoli War Cemetery; alterations to the titles of the Egypt Area and the North West Africa Area, which had been changed to the North East Africa Area and North and West Africa Area, respectively; details of forthcoming events, including the Gardeners’ Service at Westminster Abbey on 12th November 1965.
Other Business
The deaths of Mr J. M. McCall, former Commission Assistant Establishment Officer, and Lieutenant-Commander A. R. C. Prentis, former Head of the Register Section and Enquiries Officer for the Commission, were reported; account of flying visit by the Deputy Secretary of State for Defence to Becklingen War Cemetery; considerations for the floodlighting of memorials, specifically the Thiepval Memorial, in order to draw the attention of passers-by in anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme; account of speech by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, who was retiring from the Commission.
ATTENDEES:
Admiral Sir Guy Grantham GCB CBE DSO (Vice-Chairman of the Commission)
Colonel Alan Chambers DSO CBE (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)
Lieutenant-Colonel S. K. Joshua (Representing the Ambassador of India)
Mr B. H. J. Lane (Representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies)
Mr J. W. T. Pritchard (Representing the Minister of Public Buildings and Works)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore GCB DSO
Sir Arthur Rucker KCMG CB CBE
Air Marshal Sir Charles Guest KBE CB
General Sir John Anderson KCB CBE DSO
Sir Robert Black GCMG OBE
Colonel Sir Richard Glyn BART OBE TD DL MP
SECRETARY
Mr W. J. Chalmers CBE (Director-General)
ADVISER
Sir Edward Maufe RA FRIBA (Chief Architect and Artistic 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)
Mr D. H. Lloyd ARICS (Deputy 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 |