A November to Remember for the Eyes On, Hands On Project

Today we’re celebrating the successes of our amazing Eyes On, Hands On volunteers. November 2023 was one of the programme's best months to date. 

Eyes On, Hands On

Image: Eyes On, Hands On volunteers from Newmarket - just one of our amazing volunteer groups supporting Commonwealth War Graves across the UK.

November is a special time for everyone at Commonwealth War Graves, whether at the Commission or us here at the Foundation.

With Remembrance Day falling on the 11th, the month is the time of year where we stop and reflect on the huge sacrifice made by so many around the Commonwealth in the World Wars.

Our Eyes On, Hands On volunteers were certainly full of the spirit of reflection and remembrance of this time of year. November was an incredible month and one of the busiest for EOHO participants since the programme began in 2019.

• 1,872 sites were visited across the UK – the most made since 2019
• 14,397 headstones were inspected – the highest level since 2019
• EOHO volunteers gave 2,826 hours of their time – the highest level since 2019

3,834 war graves were cleaned and a further 3,186 were cleared too.

Over 90% of our UK sites are now covered by Hands On, Hands On volunteers.

Commonwealth War Graves would like to say a massive thank you to all 2,170 Eyes On, Hands On volunteers. Without their boundless enthusiasm, tireless work, and deep generosity, the programme couldn’t be a success.

What is Eyes On, Hands On?

Image: One of our EOHO volunteers inspecting a headstone. 

Launched in 2019, Eyes On, Hands On is a nationwide volunteering project helping to help monitor and, if necessary, clean and maintain war graves throughout the UK.

Eyes On, Hands On is a nationwide volunteering project.

It calls on history-loving volunteers to support the incredible work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission by volunteering their time to help care for our scattered war graves across the United Kingdom.

Commonwealth War Graves cares for some 300,000 or so headstones throughout the UK. Many of these burials are located in specially built Commission cemeteries, such as Brookwood Military Cemetery.

However, the majority are tucked away in local churchyards and cemeteries throughout the United Kingdom while some are in more remote, hard-to-reach locations.

Because of the vast number of headstones around the UK, it can be difficult for the dedicated Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintenance teams to inspect every headstone as often as we would like.

These teams do an outstanding job of ensuring Commonwealth War Graves sites are kept in tip-top shape, but they can’t be everywhere at once.

That’s why we call on our EOHO programme volunteers support our teams on the ground, with regular inspections and alerting us to where there are issues to be resolved.

From humble roots, the programme has grown into a national network of dedicated CWGF supporters and volunteers we see today.

They help us fulfil our core mission: keeping the memories and stories of the Commonwealth’s war dead alive.