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Ambala’s Christian cemetery gets a fresh lease of life
Commonwealth War Graves Commission has now started the restoration and maintenance process of 66 graves of World War 1 soldiers
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has started the restoration and maintenance process of 66 graves of World War 1 (1914-1918) soldiers, who were buried at the British-era Christian cemetery in Ambala Cantonment.
As per rough estimates, nearly two lakh graves spread across 20.84 acres of land were in ruins, most broken or taken over by wild grass.
The maintenance work began last week after a team led by CWGC Indian subcontinent manager Amit Bansal visited the site.
Staff members Tajender and Ranjeet Ram said, “Through GPS coordinates, list of names and plot-wise layout of the land, we were able to locate the graves. As per the process, if a stone of a grave is broken, a report is sent to the head office in the United Kingdom and a particular type of marble is transported.”
The development comes after the British Deputy High Commission, Chandigarh, through district administration gave the possession and maintenance to Father Patras Mundu and C Anthony of the Ambala Cemetery Committee last month.
Father Anthony said, “We’ve started the cleaning work and repaired the boundary wall. Our priority was to get the war graves repaired. It was a difficult task as the graves were spread at all corners of the land and it will take some time.”
Paddy Willis, a resident of Guilford town in England, whose grandfather stationed with the British Army was buried here in 1934, said he was distressed to see the condition of cemetery on his first-ever visit in 2017.
“I was the first person in my family to visit my grandfather’s grave with the help of locals, but was saddened to observe the condition of graves. The restoration of war graves and cleaning of the land is a welcome step indeed. The jar of the topsoil from his grave on my desk is a constant reminder of my connection with this corner of the world,” Paddy said in an e-mail.
