Dinner Meeting

Firstly and below, Acting President Hopkin Joseph presented to Ron Eccles (Chair of International Team) a cheque of £100 for MSF, donated by Pencoed Comp Interact Club, being the proceeds the Interact Club's fundraising just before Christmas.  

In their absence Hopkin expressed Rotary's thanks to William and Catherine Williams for all they do promoting Rotary in schools in the area, and specifically at Pencoed where they have encouraged the formation of a very active Interact Club with a particular advantage that Club Members are spread over four cohort years i.e. continuity at the end of each academic year.

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Acting President Hopkin Jospeh then introduced Major Graham Owen of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission (CWGC).

The CWGC care for the 1.7m Commonwealth servicemen and women who died across the world in both world wars. They also care for others, significantly 58,650 MOD non-world war graves under contract and 40,690 foreign nationals. Up to 100 casualties have been discovered annually on Western front alone, the current average being 40.Today, the CWGC are funded by six member governments: Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK. The annual budget is in the region of £60million, spent in 153 countries on 1,300 staff.

An individual is commemorated by the CWGC if they were a serving member of the armed forces, merchant navy or other recognised ‘auxiliary organisation’ of the British Empire/Commonwealth, or a former member of the above who served during the war and whose cause of death is attributed to their service, and died during the First or Second World. Irrespective of race, rank, or creed be they sick, KIA, accidents or even executed. Additional criteria applies to those who served in the merchant navy and auxiliary organisations, such as a stipulation that their death occurred in a theatre of war, as a result of enemy action, or due to war conditions. 

The work of the Commission is ongoing, researchers continue to identify service personnel and civilians who died during war but whose names, for a variety of reasons, were not included in the original records. 

Our thanks for such an informative talk were given by Rotarian Edwin Brewer, himself a former serviceman.