Common Wealth War Graves Commission

The Common Wealth War Graves Commission (CWWGC) founded by Sir Fabian Ware, began in 1917 as memorial to those men and women from the Commonwealth who had died in World War I and II. Since the beginning of the Commission, the group has constructed 2,500 war cemeteries in over 150 different countries. They has also placed markers for those graves and in the case of missing remains, they have constructed memorials with the names of the missing inscribed. The Commission has the beliefs that:

1)Each of the dead should be commemorated by name on the headstone or memorial.
2)Headstones and memorials should be permanent
3)Headstones should be uniform
4)There should be no distinction made on account of military or civil rank, race or creed

Like many who perform genealogical research, Common Wealth War Grave Commission realizes the importance of remembering the past to protect the future. We hopefully will learn from the sacrifices of those who have come before and make a brighter future for those who come after us.

The CWWGC contains a searchable database that contains 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth military members who died during the first and second world wars and the 23,000 cemeteries, memorials and located throughout the world where they are remembered. The database also contains information regarding 67,000 Commonwealth civilians who died in the Second World War.

If you would like to learn more about the CWWGC or search in the database, click Common Wealth War Graves Commission. Have fun!