War graves honoured

War graves honoured by Commonwealth War Graves Commission Director-General

Honouring two graves of soldiers who sacrificed their lives in World War One and who have just been added to the National Roll of Honour and to Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) records is on the agenda for Commission Director General, Mrs Victoria Wallace when she visits New Zealand.

“We are privileged to have Mrs Wallace in New Zealand to give her the opportunity to see some of the Commonwealth graves and memorials so she can appreciate the extent of sacrifice made by New Zealanders during the First and Second World Wars,” Sarah Ingram, Heritage Services Branch Manager, Ministry for Culture and Heritage said.

“During her whirlwind four-day trip to this country which begins on Saturday Mrs Wallace, the first woman to lead the Commission, will visit war graves and sites of commemoration in Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, the Wairarapa and Auckland.

“Beginning in Christchurch at the Linwood Cemetery Mrs Wallace will see first-hand the damage caused by the Canterbury earthquakes and the repairs to war graves which have taken place since then.

“In the Nelson region on Saturday Mrs Wallace will meet RSA representatives and New Zealand Forces Cadets at the Wakapuaka Cemetery.

“The National War Memorial in Buckle Street, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and an overview of the new Pukeahu War Memorial Park are on the itinerary in Wellington on Monday. From here Mrs Wallace travels to the Wairarapa. At the Masterton Cemetery she will unveil a plaque on Private David Falconer’s restored grave, one of six new additions to the Roll of Honour and CWGC records, and see some of the 23 war graves in the cemetery.

“During her final day in Auckland on Tuesday Mrs Wallace will go to Waikumete Cemetery where she will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph and at Private Robert Hislop’s grave, another of the six new additions to the Roll of Honour and CWGC list and the first New Zealand casualty of World War One. A visit to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Cenotaph and Domain in the afternoon concludes her trip to New Zealand,” Sarah Ingram said.

Mrs Wallace’s stay in New Zealand has been organised by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the New Zealand agent of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, responsible for 3,479 war graves in New Zealand of people who served in the First or Second World Wars and died within New Zealand during wartime, or shortly afterwards, from war related causes.

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