At a well-attended meeting of the Edwinstowe Historical Society, Mrs Olwen Hawkes, Chair, welcomed Andrew Jenkins from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Andrew said that at the beginning of World War One, Fabian Ware was working with the Red Cross in France when he was concerned at the lack of a system for recording or marking the location of graves of those who had been killed. His work was given recognition and support which led to the establishment of the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1917, later to become known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Andrew explained the process that takes place when the remains of a Commonwealth soldier from the First or Second World War are discovered. Evidence used for identification purposes may include artefacts found with the remains, anthropological data and DNA. Members were told about the design of the cemeteries and the headstones, many of which are for unidentified casualties and bear the epitaph developed by Rudyard Kipling “A soldier of the Great War known unto God”.
The current photographic display in the Sherwood Forest Art and Craft Centre features the Major Oak. Readers can read more about the trees of Sherwood Forest.