Seminar: Guardians of the Fallen – Experiences of IWGC staff in post First World War Belgium

Gateways Event

Thursday 25 January 2018, 19:15 - 21:00

Dr Glyn Prysor and Andrew Fetherston (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

In Flanders Fields Museum and the School of History/Gateways to the First World War, University of Kent present a fourth series of eight seminars on Thursday evenings, free and open to all.

After the end of the Great War, the task of burying the dead and building war cemeteries began. Ieper became home to many of the gardeners and staff of the IWGC (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). This talk explores their experiences, from the conditions in which they worked, to the way they saw their task. It highlights how their everyday lives changed over the years, and shows how these ‘guardians of the fallen’ give us a fascinating perspective on Ieper during the reconstruction.

Research Centre, Reading Room, In Flanders Fields Museum, Sint-Maartensplein 3, 8900 Ieper