Controversial Funerary Art in British Empire War Cemeteries (1917-1922)

Abstract

Cemeteries are places of remembrance and meditation, but also spaces for artistic expression. The shape of funerary monuments can be defined by the deceased themselves before their death or by their relatives after their death, and reflect their life and values. In the aftermath of the First World War, this choice was not made available to the fallen soldiers of the British Empire and their families. The authorities prohibited the repatriation of the bodies and imposed the location and form of their burial through the Imperial War Graves Commission (IWGC), which was specially created in 1917 to develop and maintain the military cemeteries of the Empire. This decision created a great deal of tension within a section of British society, which was hostile to what it considered to be a deprivation of part of its rights. This article will examine the main criticisms addressed by the families to the British authorities. They concern the very organisation of the IWGC, the impossibility of recovering the bodies of the deceased, and the prohibition on giving the graves the desired artistic form, particularly the expression of religious sentiment.

Keywords

• World War I
• British Empire
• burial
• cemetery
• headstones