PROVINCIAL WAR MEMORIAL

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29361, 14 November 1960, Page 6

PROVINCIAL WAR MEMORIAL

Hop es Of Early Start In City

fSpeefal Correspondent N.ZJ>.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 10.

Although there had been considerable delay in constructing provincial war memorials in Auckland and Christchurch, it was hoped work would be started in the near future, says a report from New Zealand to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. These memorials are tb commemorate servicemen who lost their lives in or around New Zealand or in outside theatres of war during the two world wars and who have no known grave. The report added that sites had been selected and plans nearly completed.

The commission, in its annual report, said it was making arrangements to safeguard the future of war graves and memorials in colonial and trusteeship territories now achieving independence. Talks were taking place with the new governments.

It also said that it had reluctantly agreed to transfer two small World War I cemeteries to other sites to allow local authorities to go ahead with town planning.

At the request of the United Arab Republic, the graves from the Minia war memorial cemetery, Egypt, were moved to the Cairo war memorial cemetery to facilitate large-scale slum clearance?

In Bulgaria the commission had moved the British Commonwealth graves from Ruse to the Sofia war cemetery to make way for town development The number of cemeteries containing British Commonwealth war graves of both world Wars is 24,787 in nearly all parts of the world, the report said.- The last of the men who took over maintenance of the first war graves in France and Flanders during World War I will be retiring within the next three years.