The Impact of Eyes On, Hands On

Our cornerstone volunteering project Eyes On, Hands On continues into 2023. Here’s the impact our volunteers have keeping the stories of the Commonwealth’s war dead alive with EOHO.

Eyes On, Hands On

Volunteers hard at work

We love to shout about our volunteers at the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.

From going out and about engaging with the public as volunteer speakers, to giving us a helping hand at our events, they are a core part of our main mission: sharing the stories of the men and women commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Probably our biggest volunteer project to date is Eyes On, Hands On.

Eyes On, Hands On’s brilliant impact

Our Eyes On, Hands On volunteers do amazing work helping maintain these important scattered war grave markers.

Our latest impact report figures show the fantastic work of our dedicated volunteers:

• 88% of UK sites were allocated to EOHO project members
• Over 23,000 site reports were sent
• More than 36,000 hours were spent
• Over 160,000 headstones were inspected
• More than 44,500 headstones were cleaned or tidied

We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in the Eyes On, Hands On project. Your tireless work helps maintain our war graves up and down the country, ensuring the memories of those interred within are never lost.

What our Eyes On Hands, On volunteers think

Earlier in the year, we sat down with some of our brilliant Eyes On, Hands On volunteers to understand why they got involved in the project, and what they like about it.

“I really enjoy being part of the project, accidentally finding it whilst finding information about Beachley Military Cemetery has been the best internet search result,” volunteer Richard Hoyle told us. “The community of volunteers has introduced me to new people from all walks of life, who share a common goal.”

Richard covers a wide range of cemeteries across South Wales. Thanks for your hard work, Rich!

Jan Pritchard, who cares for multiple war graves in Essex, said: “This is a great project, and it is good to know that the men and women who gave their all are being well cared for.”

Jan and her husband Len form the affectionately named Team Pritchard. Hundreds of war graves fall under their care. They do an amazing job monitoring them and cleaning them as necessary. Well done Team Pritchard!

You can read about a typical day in the life of an EOHO volunteer here.

Why Eyes On, Hands On?

While the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains many large-scale war cemeteries in the UK, such as Brookwood Military Cemetery, most of its war graves are scattered around the country.

From individual burials to headstones in churchyards to war graves tucked into non-Commission cemeteries, their scattered location presents a maintenance challenge.

The Commission’s ground staff and maintenance teams do an incredible job keeping headstones clean and war graves neat and tidy. However, they can’t be everywhere at once. Sometimes they need a helping hand.

Enter Eyes On, Hands On. The programme was established back in 2019 to help monitor and, if necessary, clean and maintain war graves throughout the UK.

They assess the condition of each and report back to HQ with their findings: some headstones may need replacing or repairing; others might need cleaning to scrub away dirt or increase their legibility; the grass around the grave might need a trim.

Any repairs or replacements is the purview of the Commission maintenance team but any quick cleaning or tidying can be done by Eyes On, Hands On volunteers.

Over 88% of Commission sites have been assigned to Eyes On, Hands On project members so far but there’s still more to cover.

But Eyes On, Hands On is more than just hard work. It’s about forging a community of like-minded individuals who want to preserve and celebrate our shared local history.

Social meets like Zoom coffee mornings and wine evenings help forge relationships among our team members. We’re all about making friends as well as maintaining war graves.

Stories from Eyes On, Hands On

Eyes On, Hands On helps us keep the memories of the men and women commemorated by Commonwealth War Graves alive.#

Image: John Aidan Liddell VC, one of the men whose war grave is under the care of an EOHO volunteer (Wikimedia Commons) 

In helping care for their final resting places, our EOHO volunteers pick up casualty stories. Here’s project member David Edwards with an example:

“One casualty whose war grave I look after is John Aidan Liddell, VC, MC.

“On 31 July 1915, while flying reconnaissance over Ostend-Bruges-Ghent, Belgium, Liddell's aircraft was raked by machine gun fire and Liddell was severely wounded in his right thigh.

This caused momentary unconsciousness, but by great effort, he recovered partial control of his machine when it had dropped nearly 3,000 feet and succeeded, although fired on, in completing the course and brought the plane back into the Allied lines.

“The control wheel and throttle control were smashed, as was part of the undercarriage and cockpit, but the machine and life of the observer were saved.

“One thing I like about the CWGC is that the headstones are all uniform, one doesn’t take precedence over another, and they don’t take race, nobility, or gender into account. They honour the sacrifice of the casualty no matter how they died. I treat every casualty the same I do as John Aidan Liddell, VC, MC.”

How you can support Eyes On, Hands On and the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation

You can support our Eyes On, Hands On project, as well as all the other important work we do, in numerous ways.

Consider becoming a CWGF member. Membership costs just £36 a year and gets you:

• Early access to our events
• Exclusive members-only content
• Subscription to our magazine the CWGF Chronicle
• Regular newsletter keeping you up to date with all our developments
• Free CWGF calendar

You can also make a one-off donation to us too.

Want to become an Eyes On, Hands On volunteer? Head to the Commission’s volunteer page to discover the latest opportunities.