§ 1. Mr. MANVILLEasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that at the present rate of progress it is estimated that the Graves Registration Commission will take six years to complete its work, and whether any steps can be taken to accelerate the rate of progress by a more generous supply of labour?
Captain GUESTMy hon. Friend is no doubt aware that the functions and responsibilities of the War Office and the Imperial War Graves Commission are not identical in this connection.
The War Office is responsible for the registration and temporary marking of all war graves in the various theatres of war, and for the temporary fencing, tidying and surveying of all war cemeteries. It is also responsible for the exhuming and bringing into permanent cemeteries of all bodies buried in isolated graves.
The Imperial War Graves Commission is an independent body appointed by Royal Charter for the purpose of continuing in perpetuity the work begun by the Army. It will take over each cemetery as soon as completed by the Army, and, after carrying out in it such permanent construction work as may be decided upon, will make the necessary arrangements for maintenance in perpetuity.
It is true that the completion of that portion of the work for which the War Office is responsible has been considerably hampered by lack of the necessary labour, but the estimated period mentioned by my hon. Friend is greatly in excess of that anticipated by the authorities responsible.
The construction work of the Commission on the other hand must inevitably take years to complete, and the duties of maintenance will continue in perpetuity.