36ud

11/05/2026

The following services will be taking place in France and Belgium in early June 26:

2 June 26 –

13:00 – A burial service for an unknown soldier at Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension, France.

3 June 26 –

11:00 – A burial service for 2 unknown Commonwealth soldiers at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.

9 June 26 –

15:00 – A rededication service for Serjeant Ernest Stevens and Lance Corporal John Springate, both of 11th Battalion The Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, who were killed in action on 1-2 October 1918, at Hooge Crater Cemetery, Belgium.

10 June 26

10:30 – A burial service for Private Horace Cook, Private Frederick Martin, Private Thomas Whitaker, Private Courtney Hart, Private Joseph Turnley, and Private Charles Russell, all of 2/4th Battalion The Queen’s Royal West Surrey Regiment, at Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium.

11/05/2026

10/05/2026

A visit to Belfast (Dundonald) Cemetery this morning.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission records show there are 89 burials of the 1914-1918 war and 88 of the 1939-1945 war here.

Amongst those buried here are 49 year old Private 21562 W. Wilson, Royal Irish Fusiliers & 24 year old Private 10349 W. Wilson, 3rd Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, husband & Son of Mrs Annie Wilson of 20 Roseberry Gardens, Belfast. These men are in the same grave with a shared headstone - photo #2

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Join the Commonwealth War Graves Commission for a free tour of Belfast (Dundonald) Cemetery, led by one of their experienced volunteer tour guides.
Tour should last around one hour, meet at front gate.
Sunday 17th May 2026
11:00 & 14:00
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▶️ 36ud
📸 2026

07/05/2026

The phrase "Known unto God" forms the standard epitaph for all unidentified soldiers of the First World War buried in Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemeteries.

The phrase is engraved towards the bottom of the gravestone. The first line of text on the stone is a description of the deceased, which may be little more than "A soldier of the Great War"; the centre shows a cross, though the deceased's actual religious affiliation may be unknown; and the top an appropriate unit badge where known.

It was selected by British poet Rudyard Kipling who worked for what was then the Imperial War Graves Commission during the First World War. It was re-used for those killed during the Second World War and appears on more than 212,000 gravestones across the world.

Kipling's inspiration for the wording of "known unto God" is unknown, however the phrase occurs twice in the King James Bible. In Philippians 4:6 in which the reader is urged not to worry and to make all his desires "known unto God" and in Acts of the Apostles 15:18 which states "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world" to explain the extent of God's power.

▶️ 36ud
📸 2023
🇧🇪 Tyne Cot cemetery

06/05/2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 WELSH NATIONAL MEMORIAL PARK
🇧🇪 Langemark-Poelkapelle, Flanders.

The war memorial in Langemark near Ypres is dedicated to soldiers of World War I, located near the Pilkem Ridge in the former Ypres Salient.

It commemorates the service of men and women of Welsh origin, wherever they served during the Great War as part of the Allied Powers, as well as the non-Welsh soldiers serving in Welsh formations.

The memorial was unveiled by First Minister Carwyn Jones, Flemish minister president Geert Bourgeois and Mayor Alain Wyffels on 16th August 2014.

An addition to the Memorial Garden is the er****on of seven stones, showing the cap badges of the five Welsh Regiments and two Welsh Divisions, the seven stones were donated by the same quarry in Pontypridd who gave the much larger stones for the Cromlech on which the memorial stands.

▶️ 36ud
📸 2024