| These graves are maintained in immaculate condition through
the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a
permanent tribute to those who died and as a reminder to us and succeeding generations of
the tragedy and sacrifice of war. Of the immediate relatives and descendants of those
buried or commemorated, such as their widows, children and grandchildren, many may never
have the opportunity to learn about, or visit the grave of their loved one or ancestor.
For others, at one time able to make the pilgrimage, age and infirmity have caught up with
them and as much as they might wish it, they can no longer make the journey. Early in
1998, the Rotary Club of Church Stretton introduced a scheme, later to become known as
Operation Voyager, to match up 'relatives' living in the area with volunteer motorists
from among the general public who would be crossing the Channel during the year to holiday
in mainland Europe. These motorists, while driving through former areas of conflict, would
be prepared to go out of their way to visit a specific grave or memorial on behalf of a
relative and, according to the relative's wishes, lay flowers, take photographs and
possibly make an entry in the cemetery visitor's book.
The scheme was launched in conjunction with the local branch of the Royal British
Legion. The Legion has the task of identifying and contacting relatives and obtaining
information on grave or memorial from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Rotary's
role was to promote the scheme through the media and through the production and
distribution of publicity aimed at potential volunteer 'motorists'; then to match these
volunteers and their intended routes with the relatives and the relevant grave or memorial
locations. In practice, this initial allocation of responsibility was not rigidly adhered
to - each organisation used whatever opportunity came its way both to identify and
encourage relatives to avail themselves of the scheme and to appeal for volunteer
motorists through friends and personal contacts.
During its first year, the scheme resulted in about 25 grave or memorial sites being
visited on behalf of relatives. |
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These visits, and the resulting reports with photographs,
have brought a great measure of satisfaction and solace to the relatives, particularly the
elderly, as can be judged from their letters of thanks. In addition, the scheme has also
been successful in forming a bridge between the generations, which has given the motorist
not only the satisfaction of a job well done, but also, possibly, a better understanding
of the events and emotions of the past. In the light of its success, the scheme has now
been adopted as a District Community Service project and is to be extended to all Clubs
who want it within RIBI. Furthermore, whilst the scheme has so far been concentrated on
war casualties originating from the UK, an approach has recently been made to an
Australian Rotary Club in Melbourne. The intention was to gauge the amount of interest
there might be in extending the scheme to benefit the relatives of Anzac war casualties of
which there are many buried in Europe, especially from the 1st world war. This approach
has received a very positive response.
The initial extension of the scheme within a District will require decisions on a
number of issues, such as the working relationship with the Royal British Legion, the
production of publicity material and media reporting. Also, work has to be done on the
possible setting up of a computer database that would hold details of both relatives and
motorists who could not be easily matched up at Club level. The District Community
Services Committee is working on several further issues in need of resolution and will be
issuing detailed recommendations on how Clubs should, if they wish, set about implementing
this scheme.
If any Club in our District wishes to adopt this project, they will need to contact
their Local Area Organiser from the Royal British Legion, who will advise which Royal
British Legion Club they need to contact for assistance with the project.
The service the War Graves Commission offers normally
attracts a small charge, however this service is free to Rotary, so please ensure that
anyone contacting them mentions Rotary. |
