GALLIPOLI GRAVES.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 131, 3 June 1919, Page 2

GALLIPOLI GRAVES.

a WORK OF THE COMMISSION. (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, April 15. Toward the end of December a unit ot • | the imperial Graves Registration Com- ; mission arrived at the Dardanelles, with - I Major C. H. Langston Cazaiet, D.5.0.,, i i in charge. j In an interview, Major Cazaiet gave' -I an outline of the objects and methods • of the Graves Registration "ommlssion. ; In previous wars no attempt had been L made to keep records of the graves ot!' I . individual soldier* killed in battle. In • this war General Alucready was the first "| to see the necessity of keeping such j i records, and Major-General Fabian ; Ware, C.M.G., was the (|iginal officer '* i put in charge of the work, which has^ j now developed into the Imperial body j l designated above. 1 j A FOKMiDABLE TASK. 'I The object was (1) to identify every t j man killed, (2) to record accurately the • place of burial, (3) to mark the spot, \ and (4) keep the grave in order for all; . | time, aud units have been operating on; '■ seven fronts, the lirst unit being formed; j* seven months after the. outbreak of the , war. Previous to that, and for some . time after, in some parts, the work was • done by the chaplains without mucti , system, with limited particulars, and not. . always strictly accurate. Major Cazar let is one of the original officers, and ( 'has done much of the pioneer work oi '" - the organisation. The General Heaa- • quarters of the Mediterranean Expedl- , ' tionary Force asked that something • more should he. done here, and he has • come out to tackle what appears to be • an impossible task. His intention >is to' j create the organisation, start the worK, i i and inform the War Office or the condi- ' i tion of the graves and cemeteries in ', I these areas, with any reccsiimendations ,j he may see fit to make. IDs responsii bilities are not confined to Anzac, but extend to prisoners of war who died in ■ j captivity, as well as cemeteries and . graves in other parts. The original records of Gallipoli were written up in three enormous volumes in Egypt. These have all been copied I i | on separate cards, and plans of cemeteries which were prepared have been "blue I printed and are now with the unit here. To these records arc added such further i I information and particulars from other : 1 j sources as can bo obtained. Notwithi I standing this substantial work which has j been done, it is recognised that there ; are many thousands of dead whose last resting place can never be identified, | such as those who have taken part in I colossal attacks and have never come back. All that is known about many j men is that they were engaged in a cer- | tain combat on a certain date and did ji not return. They may have l>een buried len masse, or they may have been made I prisoners. For such it may be decided to put up a suitable headstone in some I near-by cemetery as being close to, al- ; though not on the exact spot, where the [ | remains are probably buried. Then : , there are those who have been buried at sea and in the desert sands of Egypt, \ Syria and Sinai, which is only another kind of seaLIGHTHOUSE SUGGESTED. In addition to these conditions, the removal of crosses and identifications, as well as the graves which have been washed out, dug up and otherwise lost, | : makes the work very difficult and per- , ■ plexing. In view of the large number of killed whose graves can never be in- ; dividually marked, it has been suggested that a lighthouse should be put up at Cape Helles, in the base of which should be recorded the names of all those not otherwise honoured. The policy has been j j adopted in some fields of disinterring ; bodies buried in scattered isolated places in small groups of graves, and even in , small cemeteries, so that in Macedonia 140 cemeteries have been reduced to 19. j The general idea seems to be to recover every grave a tombstone, photograph : same and send it to the relatives, and I every body, give it a separate grave, and j the spot to be kept in order for all time, j out of the public funds subscribed for i the purpose. ! _ Every effort has been made in the j interests of the home folk, even at the expense and risk of the lives of those j engaged in the work. There is no doubt : the Graves Registration Units have done i enormous work, which is fully recognised and must be appreciated. Whether ita I ideals and hopes can ever >be reasonably j I consummated is a question which need | not be answered here. They are based I la-gely on individual sentiment towards relatives, and Imperial appreciation of ' great sacrifice. The Graves Registration l ' Commission is part of the "imperial ' | Army, and consequently is a somewhat ■ huge, cumbersome body to move and act The action of the French Government in passing a special Act in 1015, whereby I every plot of ground in France where I a British soldier is buried shall belon" ' to England for ever and ever, is magnifi- '. cent, and will cement the bond of union .between the two nations for all time