The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) was established by Royal Charter in 1917. Its task is to mark and maintains the graves of the 1.7 million men and women of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars, build memorials to those who have no known grave, and keep records and registers of the war dead.

If one of your ancestors served and died with the Commonwealth forces during the First or Second World Wars the CWGC should have some record of them; you can now search online using the Debt of Honour Register. This wonderful resource allows you to enter the name and any other information you may have for your ancestor to access basic personal and service details and discover the location of their grave or place of commemoration. Note: the CWGC does NOT hold full service records.

Initially, you will be presented with a table of possible matches for the information you have entered into the register. You can then click on each individual record to view the details held. These can vary, but should include name, rank and number, regiment, ship or squadron, gallantry awards and date of death. There might be additional information such as age at death, the names of the individual’s parents or spouse, and home town or village; for First World War casualties, there may even be a full address. There will also be information about the cemetery or memorial where that person is buried or commemorated - some historical notes about the site, its location and how to visit it.

In addition to service war dead, the register allows you to access CWGC records for the 66,000 civilians who died during the Second World War as a result of enemy action, chiefly victims of the Blitz.

More information about the Commission and its work is available from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Back to top ^