LONDON – The Royal British Legion on Monday launched a campaign for each of the 1,117,077 Commonwealth troops killed in World War I to be individually remembered a century on.
The welfare charity is encouraging people to pay tribute to their relatives and ancestors who died in the 1914-1918 war, find a connection to a serviceman or woman, or remember someone who has nobody to commemorate them.
The Every Man Remembered initiative, which uses an online database, was unveiled to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the war. Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914.
“Every Man Remembered will help us make a real connection to those who died 100 years ago,” said Stephen Clarke, head of remembrance at the Legion.
The initiative — inspired by a Scout’s visit to a cemetery in Belgium where some graves had remembrance poppies but not others — invites people to leave a tribute message for someone who was part of their family, or someone who shares the same name, age, workplace, birth date or home town.
“The important thing is that not a single one of them is left without a dedication and recognition of the role they played in providing the freedom we have today,” said Clarke.
It is being run in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which looks after the graves of those killed in World Wars I and II.
The 1,117,077 figure is the total number of World War I identified burials or service personnel commemorated on memorials in the CWGC’s care.
Leave a Reply