We are thrilled to announce that Kingham Hill School will be the first school in the country to take part in a new initiative in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The “Eyes On Hands On” project has been set up for local volunteers to help with the oversight and care of some of the 160,000 war graves spread out across the UK, often in local churchyards.
The group of twelve pupils, led by our resident military historian Mr Williams, received their training on Friday 31st January from Sarah Moody, our regional coordinator with the CWGC. They were given their volunteers’ surcoats ready to get out and about during our weekly service activity slot on Tuesday afternoons.
The group’s work will consist of visiting the graves to inspect their condition, photograph them and then send the results back to the Commission’s head office in Maidenhead. Any major repairs or maintenance will then be programmed to be done by the professionals. If the grave simply needs a good clean and the ground around it sprucing up, then the pupils will get stuck in to do the work as an official CWGC volunteer.
Back at School, the group will get to work, researching the stories behind the names on the graves. The idea is then to make sure that these stories are shared with the local community. The Commission are keen to engage the public more in finding out about the war graves which are much closer to home. Whilst we are familiar with the splendid cemeteries and memorials in France and Belgium, not to mention much further afield, it is an often neglected fact that most people in the UK live within only four miles of a war grave.
Within a ten-mile radius of the School, there are over 100 graves which have been allotted to us. Normally the Commission would be able to get round to these graves once in every two or three years. We think that we could probably get to them at least twice a year, so clearly, we can make a difference.
The team are excited to get out into the field on Tuesdays and we look forward to sharing our experience with the local community by publishing the stories we discover with the local press so that more of our neighbours can take an interest in the rich history that surrounds us in this delightful corner of the Cotswolds.
To find out more about the Commission’s “Eyes On Hands On” project and to get involved in your own local area, visit the CWGC website.