Intern helps to remember the war dead

Dedicated George Thomas from Burley in Wharfedale has been commemorating those who died in the two world wars at some of the most important memorials in Europe.

By The Newsroom

Published 13th Aug 2019, 14:50 BST

The 22-year-old beat off hundreds of applicants to become a Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF) Intern with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in France. George, who attended Ilkley Grammar School, has been based at the commission’s largest cemetery in the world, Tyne Cot War Cemetery, the final resting place for 11,900 Commonwealth servicemen. Here he has welcomed visitors, providing tours of the site, answering questions and helping them to find out more information about their own family history.

George - whose two great-great uncles were killed in the Ypres Salient in 1917 - has also given talks and supported visitors to the Menin Gate Memorial, which commemorates 54,000 soldiers who have no known grave, in Ieper, Belgium.

Visit www.cwgc.org to support the foundation or go to www.CWGC.org/interns for more details about the 2020 intern programme.

Europe Commonwealth War Graves Commission