“The Group consists of Members from both Houses and exists to support the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, to further educational programmes aimed at increasing knowledge of war heritage and battlefield sites, to support campaigners seeking to conserve and promote heritage sites, and to encourage best practice in multi-disciplinary battlefield archaeology.”
On July 19, the 92nd anniversary of the Battle at Fromelles, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group, together with Peter Barton, First World War historian and co-secretary of the Group, were present at a commemoration ceremony held to honour the fallen at Fromelles Field.
Lord Faulkner laid a wreath on behalf of the Group.
The sculpture "Cobbers" (known as the Diggers Memorial) in the Australian Memorial Park commemorates the Australian casualties of July 19 1916, in total over 5000.
See also report in La Voix du Nord of 22 July
WWI 'mass grave' to be sealed: Report (13 June) on the BBC News website
Excavation of WW1 graves has begun on a series of mass grave pits at Fromelles Field in northern France. The pits could contain the remains of up to 400 British and Australian soldiers killed in the disastrous attack on German lines during the 1916 Battle of Fromelles.
The excavation work is being carried out by a team from the Glasgow University Archaeological Division under Dr Tony Pollard and is expected to take a maximum of three weeks.
On the BBC website you can see Peter Barton, First World War historian and co-secretary of this Group, describing the importance of the find here. You can also read a major article in the Guardian of 3 June here
On June 5, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary War Graves and Battlefields Heritage Group, tabled the following Question in the House of Lords:“whether, following the recent discovery of large numbers of human remains, Her Majesty's Government will initiate discussions to establish a Commonwealth War Graves site at Fromelles in northern France.” Read the Hansard report here
Further background information can be found on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, and also the Current Issues page on this website.
Who are we?
The All-Party Parliamentary War Graves & Battlefields Heritage Group, chaired by Lord Faulkner of Worcester, has over 90 members.
Co-secretaries are Peter Barton, historian & author of several books on WW1 in association with the Imperial War Museum & Professor Peter Doyle, a military terrain specialist.
