Although we are grateful for all the efforts by the concerned parties so far for the installation of the fitting plaque at Christchurch, our hopes are still for the positioning of a road sign on the main road opposite. All war graves managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission utilise such signs in a prominent position . The majority of these road signs are in France and Belgium, but they are sited all over the world where Commonwealth service men and women are laid to rest. They are also found in great numbers in the UK where burials have also taken place. A local example is at Blacon Cemetery where many Chester war dead are buried.

Dear Mr Royden

As you may know the vast majority of our cemeteries and memorials in France and Belgium have a Commission Road Directional Sign but this is not the case with the 13,000 plus sites in the UK - the vast majority of which are not owned, directly controlled or maintained by the Commission.

There is no definitive list of the number of signs in the UK but the few that exist are not all the distinctive 'green and white' signs but Local Authority versions, often 'black and white'. Local authority permission also has to be granted before a sign is erected because, as mentioned above, with a few notable exceptions, the Commission does not own its cemeteries, another difference between the operations in the UK and overseas. There is a Commission sign at Chester Blacon Cemetery which has 560 casualties but this is the exception rather than the rule. Ellesmere Port is a local authority churchyard and should you wish to approach the local authorities to ask for their signage, the Commission would have no objection.

Yours sincerely
Peter Francis
CWGC