Safely and sensitively managing the reburial process of fallen soldiers
9.7 million military personnel died in World War I and a further 15 million perished in World War II.
Over 1 million British military personnel died during the First and Second World Wars, with the First World War alone accounting for 886,000 fatalities (National Archives).
Loss on this scale was and remains unfathomable to those left behind.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established to honour and care for the military men and women of the Commonwealth who died in the First and Second World Wars, ensuring they will never be forgotten. Funded by six Member Governments, the work of the CWGC began more than a century ago building cemeteries at 23,000 locations all over the world.
Although battlefields were carefully searched after both world wars, ground conditions meant that some of the missing remained unlocated. As progress continues to march on through the landscapes that once saw battle, development and changes in the use of land result in the discovery of human remains on a fairly regular basis, with on average around 80 new discoveries of human remains each year worldwide.
Once it has been confirmed that the remains are those of a Commonwealth war casualty, CWGC is notified and its teams begin the process of liaison with archaeologists, law enforcement and military authorities in the country of discovery to reconcile the casualty with one of the many names still designated as Missing in Action.
The casualty is usually reburied in a CWGC cemetery close to where they were found whether identification is successful or not. There is a policy of non-repatriation of Commonwealth war casualties which ensures that ‘all those who died together are buried together, irrespective of how wealthy or influential their families were when they were buried’.
“The military authorities will arrange for a formal burial ceremony and CWGC will mark the grave with a Commission headstone, bearing as many details as it has been possible to establish. Where a casualty has been identified and close family traced, the Commemorations team will work with them to choose a religious emblem or none, together with a Personal Inscription.
The burial protocols established during the First World War are still followed today with casualties who were found together being buried in joint or collective graves, with their headstones touching. ”
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Designing a bespoke grave shoring solution for CWGC
It is in the safe realisation of this burial protocol that Teleshore was approached to design and produce grave shoring https://teleshoregroup.com/grave-shoring equipment suitable for use in the wider grave plots created to accommodate those who fell together and are to stay together forever.
Within these excavations, individual spaces are partitioned, but the side walls can be up to 20 feet apart, posing a challenge for any standard grave shoring solution. In addition to the need to shore and stabilise the outer walls, the full Military burial given to each fallen soldier requires 4-6 soldiers per coffin to be able to walk safely over the excavation to lower the coffin into place.
Teleshore was invited to devise a shoring system to support the walls on the outside where the soldiers would stand and build a central walkway over the excavation suitable to carry the weight of 6 military personnel. It was essential that the equipment was discreet and not obviously visible to any mourners in attendance.
Using Teleshore’s hydraulic shoring system as a foundation, a modular steel framework using specialised linking cylinders was developed, which now allows the CWGC to adapt the solution to the size required each time. The system is concealed using black material and the mechanics are not visible to anyone in attendance of the funerals. Within the modular framework, a load-tested and certificated walkway can also be attached and constructed over the excavation.
It is Teleshore’s service promise to be on-hand to ensure new equipment works perfectly when it is first brought to site, so the team packed their suitcases and set off to France to deliver the modular system directly. Being there for first use enables any modifications required to be made by the expert team on-site without delay.
Peter Smith, Managing Director of Teleshore comments: “We were honoured to have been invited to work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to find a robust safety solution for this unique burial scenario which could also be discreetly concealed. The company was founded on our knowledge of safety in cemeteries and engineering expertise, so our team were well-placed to devise an effective, modular solution for CWGC.”
Teleshore continues to work with customers to devise appropriate safety solutions for unique challenges.