Exhibition celebrating CWGC's first 100 years

To mark the centenary of the CWGC’s foundation by Royal Charter in 1917, a ground-breaking exhibition will be staged at CWGC Brookwood Military Cemetery near Woking, Surrey.

It will be opened at 11am on Saturday 20 May by Brian Blessed OBE and will run for six months.

For Then, For Now, For Ever celebrates the CWGC’s first 100 years. It has been curated by CWGC staff and will be staged in the Grade 1 listed Canadian Records Building at Brookwood – the largest CWGC site in the UK with more than 5,000 burials and 3,500 commemorations on the Brookwood Memorial.

The exhibition tells the story of the CWGC’s creation through to modern day, using historical objects and artefacts from the CWGC archive and collections. Many of the exhibits have never been publically displayed before. They include an original First World War grave marker and a petition from the 1920s addressed to then CWGC President, HRH The Prince of Wales. The petition contains more than 8,000 signatures – predominantly from mothers who had lost sons in the Great War – asking the Commission to reconsider the use of a uniform marker in favour of a cross. These and other objects tell the sometimes difficult story of how one man’s vision came to forever change the way we remember the war dead.

The exhibition will be supported by a series of special events during its first week – with talks from CWGC staff and guest speakers on topics from horticulture to history.

The events are ticketed but free. Members of the public can register their interest and get more information about the events by visiting the links below.