BRITISH AND COMMONWEALTH REMEMBRANCE PROJECT - USA Annual Report 2024

BRITISH & COMMONWEALTH REMEMBRANCE PROJECT 2024 Annual Report

A Note from the Founder

You will either step forward into growth or you will step back into safety.

Abraham Maslow

This is our fifth year as an organization, and one which has seen us achieve many firsts. This is the first year we have operated outside New England. This was the first year we visited more than 800 Commonwealth War Graves. It was also the first year for multiple collaborations with the armed forces of three nations (Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal Navy and US Navy) and with Old North Church.

Through that partnership we held the only RCAF 100 Service of Thanksgiving in the United States.

These partnerships and collaborations have yielded much fruit, and I look forward to how we can develop these further in the coming years.

Being an all-volunteer organization none of this work would be possible without the hard work and dedication of our hard working board members, our kind volunteers and generous supporters. So, I would like to take this opportunity in the Annual Report to say Thank You! Many thanks for your continued support.

James Normington President & Founder

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2024 Annual Report

Our Charitable Mission In 2024 The Project’s goal was to provide a local focal point for British Citizens, and those of British descent, to participate in Acts of Remembrance in November. At a time when UK/US travel was restricted and many felt detached and isolated, the Project was an important way for people to feel connected both to each other and with Great Britain.

Since the world returned to normal in 2021 the Project has gone from strength to strength. Our mission breaks down into three work areas.

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The first area is the annual Poppy Program. This draws together volunteers across the United States to visit War Graves in October and November. This year we saw volunteers visit 917 War Graves (89 of those fall outside the remit of the CWGC) across the Continental USA. The furthest northerly volunteer was in Alaska, the furthest south was a few miles from the Mexico border.

The most westerly grave was in Long Beach California and the most eastern grave is on the New England Coast. This includes the graves of WW1 & WW2 Merchant seamen (Canadian, and British), graves predating 1914, and crash sites in New England and Illinois.

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The second area is the volunteers who do the research work. This research uncovers more and more of the forgotten history that binds together Americans, Britons, Canadians and other Commonwealth nations. Under this area we produced documentation which allowed for the erection of the US Citizens in the Canadian Forces War Memorial.

Our third work area is an ongoing commitment to recognize the service and sacrifice of men and women who gave their lives in service. In 2024, we created three memorials. The first memorial to S/Lts Gill & Knott in Raymond, Maine, marked their underwater gravesite. This was of wide significance to the people of Maine, and the family of the pilots. The second memorial was a US first, a memorial to the US Citizens who served in the Canadian Forces in both World Wars. The third memorial was a collaboration with the Arlington Historical Society which was placed at the burial site of British soldiers killed at the Battle of Menotomy, 1775.

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2023 Annual Report

Our Work in 2024 The Gill and Knott Memorial Since 1944, the bodies of S/Lt Vaughn Reginald Gill RNVR & S/Lt Raymond Laurence Knott RNVR have remained at the bottom of the lake entombed in their respective aircraft. On the 80th anniversary of their death, we held a service of dedication at the newly unveiled memorial.

We raised $3,000 to pay for this memorial and the event was attended over 300 people from Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The Commander and Crew of USS John Basilone provided a Ceremonial Guard of Honor.

Reginald Gill’s nephews flew in from the UK for the event and the following people attended and laid wreaths the Dr Peter Abbott OBE (British Consul General), Cdr Vince Owen (British Assistant Naval Attache), General Dunn (US Army, representing the Governor of Maine), the British Officers Club of New England and the British and Commonwealth Remembrance Project.

Royal Canadian Air Force 100 Anniversary Service Working with Revd. Dr Matthew Cadwell and the staff at Old North Church, Boston we were pleased to host a service of Thanksgiving for the 100th Anniversary of the RCAF. The event was supported by the Canadian Consulate General, and Hon. Bernadette Jordan attended. This was an excellent opportunity to bring together members of both the Canadian diaspora in Massachusetts, and veterans of the RCAF. Many men and women from Boston and wider New England served in the RCAF, during the Second World War and its immediate aftermath. The service drew on these links to emphases the deep roots between Canada and New England. Revd. Dr Matthew Cadwell’s address brought out many of these local links, sharing the joint history which is so often forgotten.

The event was supported by the New England Canadian Business Council, and several of their members attended, including Dr Andrew Holman (Director of Canadian Studies, Bridgewater State University). Following the service there was reception hosted by the British Officers Club of New England.

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2024 Annual Report

Remembering Menotomy 1775

Working with the Royal Navy in Virginia

The Arlington Historical Society approached the British Consulate General in New England for assistance in creating a marker for the mass grave in the Old Burying Ground, Arlington.

Cdr Vince Owen, kindly connected us with the Royal Navy unit in Virginia. We worked with Lt Cdr DMT Brannighan RN and his staff to conduct a complete audit of all CWGC in the Virginia Beach area. This included a full condition report, photographs and placing of Poppy Markers on each grave. This made a significant impact as many of thes graves had not been visited in decades. As a consequence of this work, some cleaning and maintenance work has been identified. We hope this will be an annual partnership.

Introducing Our Newest Board Member John Martin, volunteered to place Poppy markers in our first year. He has also been a driving force in our research group. We are pleased he agreed to join our board in 2024.

Website Update

We happily took the referral and helped create a beautiful marker noting the mass burial site, which includes 40 British Soldiers from the Battle. Working in partnership with Arlington Historical Society and two other non-profits we were able to contribute $2,000 to this work. The marker was unveiled in September 2024, by the new British Consul General, David Clay MBE.

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Ian Lester has worked hard to update the website to include flags of all the graves we visited in 2024. It also includes GPS data and images which our volunteers have uploaded. These images are vital in helping us keep CWGC informed as to the condition of these gravestones. The CWGC North American office covers the entire Pacific rim so our work in keep track of these US based graves allows monitor as many graves as possible on an annual basis.

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2024 Annual Report

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Cemetery: Graveside Service of Remembrance As many volunteers know the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Cemetery is a Restricted site, due to the active US Navy work that happens at the Shipyard.

This year the Annual Graveside Service of Remembrance took place on the first Friday of November. The Shipyard Commander attended as did the British Consul General. We remembered the 30 British and New Zealand Sailors and Aircrew buried here, as well as the 28 Merchant Navy sailors lost on the HMT Empire Knight.

A number of volunteers attended as did representatives of the British Officers Club of New England. As always the event was coordinated with Mr J. Gluckert, Portsmouth Naval Heritage Center.

Without his continued hard work and support this event would not happen. Thank you Joe!

The Poppy Program 2024 In 2024, growth was the name of the game for the Poppy Program. We adopted the low carbon impact Poppy markers provide by Royal British Legion Scotland and extended our area of operation across the United States. We partnered with many groups including British and Canadian Diplomatic Missions in Illinois, Washington and Alaska. Various Daughters of the British Empire Chapters also worked with us to place poppy markers in the Midwest.

There were hundreds of new volunteers across the country.

Many volunteers visited multiple graves. One mother with her twin girls covered almost all the A Visit to the Grave of Almond Vandre RCAF. graves in Oregon and one volunteer drove over 6hrs to visit 100 RAF graves in Montgomery, Alabama.

With this being the 100th Anniversary of the RCAF. It was top of mind to visit all the RCAF war Graves in United States. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (“CWGC”) had a list of them on their database, and we were able to complete all these visits by the end of November 2024.

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2024 Annual Report

“US Citizens in Canadian Forces” War Memorial The work of our research volunteers identified the stories of thousands of men and women who left their homes in the United States and volunteered in Canada. Their service in both World Wars has largely been forgotten. There was no national memorial to mark their contribution.

We identified this as an opportunity to mark their service and sacrifice with a War Memorial at Old North Church. Old North has a unique place in history as being part historical shrine to the American Revolution and an active Episcopal Church. It seemed a fitting place to mount this memorial plaque and stone. The Stone is from a piece of carved granite that was cut in the 1880s making it as old as some of the men who volunteered to fight in the First World War. It rests on small stones from each of the New England States symbolizing the coming together of many strands in this one place.

Hon. Bernadette Jordan, gave an address at the service of dedication.

The Premier of Prince Edward Island and the Commission of Veterans for the City of Boston also attended the service.

We are grateful to Revd Dr. Matthew Cadwell, and the Vestry of Christ Church in the City (“Old North Church”) for supporting this worthwhile endeavor.

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2023 Annual Report

Working with the RCAF in Alaska One of our volunteers, Diddy Hitchens, was most impressive. Through liaising with the Canadian Diplomatic Mission in the Pacific Northwest we were able to connect her to the Anchorage based NORAD RCAF Contingent.

Here is an extract from her report.

“On Monday November 11, I joined the Canadian NORAD Detachment at JBER and the Canadian Honorary Consul, Mary Ann Pease, first to participate in the US Veterans’ Day ceremony and then to proceed to Fort Richardson National Cemetery for the wreath laying. The Canadian Remembrance Day Ceremony was held at the Pavilion in the National Cemetery, a covered area with snow and wind breaks and concrete benches to accommodate about 30 people surrounded by snow and pine trees with the lines of white marble graves just behind us. All of the Canadian NORAD Detachment were present in their RCAF uniform and a bagpiper was present to play.

The full Canadian Remembrance Day Ceremony was conducted, commencing with National Anthems and prayers spoken by an RCAF padre, followed by the reading of In Flanders Field and the Act of Remembrance, there were remarks by Brigadier General David Moar, Deputy Commander of NORAD who talked about those who lost their lives in the Aleutian Campaign of 19411943. The Last Post and Reveille were played. Wreaths were laid at the Pavilion on behalf of His Majesty The King, The Canadian Armed Forces, and the US Military in Alaska. We then proceeded to the war graves where 11 members of the Canadian Detachment placed poppy wreaths on the row of 11 identified Commonwealth War graves in the “Alien” Section of Fort Richardson National Cemetery, and we then moved to the American section to place the 2 wreaths destined for those graves.”

Diddy did a wonderful job of organizing the wreath laying which was an excellent addition to the RCAF Annual Remembrance Service in the Pavilion. Thank you Diddy for your hard work!

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British & Commonwealth Remembrance Project 2024 Annual Report

2025 Look Ahead There are two significant anniversaries in 2025.

The 85th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain takes places in September 2025. There are 11 US pilots who fought in this pivotal Second World War Battle.

No. 1 Sqn of the Royal Canadian Air Force also played an active role alongside the RAF. It is important to mark this anniversary and there are opportunities to recognize our shared sense of this history.

The 80th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War also falls in 2025. The board are actively exploring possible ways to commemorate this event with our wide network of supporters and volunteers. We are actively soliciting suggestions, if you have an idea please get in touch.

Acknowledgements We are extremely grateful to the support of our Strategic Partners, the British Consulate General, Boston and the Consulate General of Canada in Boston, and their associated missions across the country. We are also grateful to Diddy Hitchens MBS, Honorary Consul to Alaska and the Officer Commanding the NORAD Canadian Deployment (JBER) for their hard work. We are grateful to the Officer Commanding USN Portsmouth Shipyard and Joseph Gluckert of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Heritage Center for their continued assistance. We are grateful for the support and kindness of the New England Canadian Business Council, the Daughters of the British Empire and British Officers Club of New England. Lastly, none of this work would have occurred without the work of our dedicated volunteers

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Financials and Fundraising The Project was funded entirely by public subscription. Donations originated from across all cross sections of the British and Commonwealth Communities in New England and further afield. The major areas of expense were: $3,000

Sebago Lake Memorial

$2,350

The US Citizens in Canadian Forces Memorial

$2,000

Menotomy British Soldiers Marker

$5,000

Poppy markers, Poppy Wreaths and shipping costs (900 poppy markers at a cost of $5.50 each with an average shipping cost of $5.15, $400 is attributable to wreaths which are used where markers are not possible such as Alaska).

At the end of November 2024, the Treasurers Report showed that cash on hand at the bank amounted to $2,300. This means that we are solvent but need to raise further funds if we are to continue to build on the work we have done this year.

Organization The Project was assembled and incorporated in Massachusetts as a registered Non-Profit Corporation. It holds federal non-profit status as a 501(c)(3). It is governed by a Board of Directors which is chaired by the Founder, Mr. James Normington. The Treasurer is Ms. Zoe Hornsby. Mr Ian Lester is the director responsible for marketing, website & communications. Mr. John Martin leads our research efforts.

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