Heritage Day welcomes locals and tourists to New Irish Farm Cemetery

Local Flemish families and tourists were given an insight into the daily work undertaken by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) at an open day in Belgium last week.

New Irish Farm Cemetery, north-east of Ieper, welcomed more than 300 people to learn more about how CWGC teams continue to maintain the graves and memorials of the fallen and help keep their stories alive.

Throughout the day guided war cemetery tours and workshops took place with visitors young and old learning some of the life stories of those buried in the cemetery, the importance of the site’s architecture and the century of work the Commission has put into commemorating the war dead from both World Wars.

A team of CWGC stonemasons, gardeners and interns welcomed the locals and visitors and invited them to try their hand at engraving while learning about the restoration and maintenance work of the Commission. Children were also encouraged to ask questions of staff and given workbooks to help them understand more about CWGC.

The event was part of the annual Heritage Day, the largest one-day cultural event in Flanders.

New Irish Farm Cemetery is one of the cemeteries covered by an agreement with the Flemish Government, worth nearly €4 million, for the restoration work of 24 CWGC military cemeteries in the Westhoek region.