The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the care and maintenance of war graves in of the order of 23,000 locations around the world, commemorating almost 1.7 million individuals. In just over a century they have constructed two and a half thousand cemeteries and plots, and have a multinational workforce of around thirteen hundred people, the great majority of whom are gardeners and stone masons.
This talk describes the horticultural dimension of the CWGC's work in all its many facets.
Images:
Main: St Symphorien Cemetery (Belgium): an unusual British Cemetery (it also contains 284 German burials) in that there is more of the 'botanical garden' than the more traditional 'English country garden' about its design.
Left: a row graves surrounded by a wide variety of plants in Essex Farm Cemetery (Belgium).
Right: Tyne Cot Cemetery (Belgium), the largest cemetery for Commonwealth forces in the world. This picture shows the path towards the old entrance, lined with lavender.