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Empires of the Dead: How One Man's Vision Led to the Creation of WWI's War Graves
Year
2014
Language
ENGLISH
Publication Information
HarperCollins Publishers
Summary
Shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction. The extraordinary and forgotten story of the building of the World War One cemeteries, due to the efforts of one remarkable man, Fabian Ware. Before WWI, little provision was made for the burial of the war dead. Soldiers were often unceremoniously dumped in a mass grave; officers shipped home to be buried in local cemeteries. The great cemeteries of WWI came about as a result of the efforts of one inspired visionary. In 1914, Fabian Ware, at 45, was too old to enlist. Instead, he joined the Red Cross, working on the frontline in France. There he was horrified by the ignominious end to the lives of many of the soldiers who, buried hastily, were often lost as the battle lines moved backward and forward over the same ground. He recorded their identity and the position of their graves, and his work was quickly officially recognized, with a Graves Registration Commission being set up. As reports of their work became public, the Commission was flooded with letters from grieving relatives around the world. Critically acclaimed author David Crane gives a profoundly moving account of the creation of the great citadels to the dead, which involved leading figures of the day, including Kipling, Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll. It is the story of both cynical political motivation, as governments sought to justify the sacrifices made, as well as the outpouring of great personal grief, following the 'war to end all wars'. • Will include maps and photos • Published to coincide with the highly anticipated centenary memorial celebrations. • Six 'state occasions' to mark centenary • Royal re-opening of IWM's First World War galleries after a £35m refurbishment • Delegation from every state school in the country to visit to Western Front • Mass BBC programming — both factual and drama across BBC TV, radio and online — to commemorate the anniversary 'an extraordinary phenomenon with seismic consequences' • Visits to the WWI Cemeteries are growing in popularity, with numbers expected to soar from 2014-18 • Belgian and French Governments are investing heavily in the commemorations and expect huge numbers of tourists • Examples of present annual visitor numbers at two main sites — 340,000 to Tyne Cot; 700,000 to Vimy Ridge • From visitor books it appears UK, Canada and Australia represent most of visitors, then NZ. • The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is a vibrant organization made up of 6 partner governments — NZ, Australia, South Africa, India, Canada, UK Competition: World war one; as good as any man; a line in the sand; black poppies; the second world war; missing; the unreturning army; the first day on the somme. norman stone; max hastings; tom holland; james holland; antony beevor; james barr; stephen bourne; martin gilbert; saul david; paul reed; neil oliver; andrew richards