§ 136. Commander Nobleasked the Secretary of State for War in what countries the Imperial War Graves Commission is not allowed to operate; and for what reasons.
§ Mr. BellengerIn countries where the Army Graves Registration Services are or have been at work, the Imperial War Graves Commission assumes its duties of permanent construction and maintenance as soon as there is a completed cemetery ready to be handed over. In other cowl-tries, it approaches the Government of the country through the Foreign Office and obtains any necessary permission to begin its work.
The Commission is at work already in every country where the work of the Graves Registration Services is sufficiently advanced, and it is now dealing with the British graves in the other countries. In no case has the commission been refused permission to begin its work. Some delay, however, occurred in obtaining permission for the Graves Registration Services to enter the Balkan countries and the Russian zone of Germany. This has now been overcome and work is in progress or is nearly completed in the Balkans, with the exception of Yugoslavia, where the work cannot at present be carried throug[...] Work in the Russian zone began a month ago, and the latest reports state that the task of collecting the bodies and concentrating them to Berlin is progressing smoothly.