Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

Generally, the War  Cemeteries and   Memorials are  constructed and   maintained by the city municipal authorities, or the army authorities as the case may be, in India.

 The one common authority in the world,  which builds, maintains and respects the war dead , in many memorials throughout the world, and maintain excellent database for each site, is the inter- governamental  organisation called Commonweath War Graves Commission, abbreviated CWGC. (www.cwgc.org). Its earlier name was Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC) with Sir Fabian Ware as its Director.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) honours the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, and ensures they will never be forgotten.

Of the 1.7 million Commonwealth Forces' casualties of both WW1 and WW2, an estimated 760,000 have no-known-grave. That equates to 45% of all casualties! Instead, their names are  engraved/commemorated on memorials scattered throughout the world. Crosses Of Sacrifice are, in general, found in cemeteries with over 40 war graves. The Stone of Remembrance is found in cemeteries with over 1000 war graves and is a non-denominational  tribute to the fallen

They have 23000 locations in more than 150 countries, youngest casuality of WW1 was 14 years, the oldest was 68 years. They employ 850 gardeners, to maintain the locations, the biggest one with 12000 graves is at Tyne Cot in Belgium and the smallest with only 4 buried at Ocracoke island (North Carolina, USA).  They have burial type and cremation type memorials.  Sometimes you may find exclusive Gurkha Cemetery or Indian Cemetery etc.,and even Cremation Locations. From the start, architects work closely with the Commission's horticultural staff to produce designs suited to the variety of climates and terrains of our cemeteries. They publish regular newsletters to which you can subscribe.

With 2.5 million men, the Indian Army of the Second World War was the largest volunteer army in history. Indians served in theatres of war across the world: India and Burma; Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong; the Middle East and North Africa; Greece and Italy. They served at sea and in the air, as well as contributing to support and medical care. They fought for the "tomorrow" of the British, while not getting their own independence (for the Indian troops).

In every CWGC Cemetery or Memorial, Individual graves are arranged, where possible, in straight rows and marked by uniform headstones, the vast majority of which are made of Portland stone. The memorial commemorates more than 4,700 Indian soldiers and labourers who lost their lives on the Western Front during the First World War and have no known grave.

The CWGC itself guides Visitors on

“How to read a CWGC headstone: Badge of the Unit, Rank, Name, Name of Military Unit, Date of death, Symbol of faith ( unless requested none) or Victoria Cross or George Cross if awarded, , Personal inscription (perhaps) “.

But, as observed from various headstones, the following pattern is seen. The Regiment, service number, name, date of death, age, decorations, religion- a Cross if the dead was a Christian, “Om Bhagawathe Namaha” in Devanagari Lipi if the dead is a Hindu, star of David for a Jew, for Sikhs all data in Gurmukhi script, Urdu for Pakistanis, Arabic for those from Middle Eastern countries, etc.,.   A touching request from a parent, most probably a mother, says “ WILL SOME KIND HAND IN A FOREIGN LAND PLACE A FLOWER ON MY SON’S GRAVE”.

One of the largest memorials to Indian soldiers who fought in the first and second world wars – set in Basra, Iraq – is set to go online on April 18 as part of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s plans to celebrate its centenary this year.

Guwahati is the only war cemetery among the nine war cemeteries in India which has war graves of Japanese soldiers," Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) regional manager Salew Pfotte told The Hindu newspaper. 

If you know your ancestor's  details of rank, service number, regiment, and campaigns  fought ,  then, CWGC has  a thorough data base for search,for WW1 and WW2,  with many filters provided for  narrowing the search for quick retrieval of information required. They have volunteers who may also help you in your search.

Visit their sites, view the beautiful constructions and the maintenance aspects of the horticultural  planning, and the uniform ,systematic sculpturing of the headstones for every grave.