Army cadets trained to restore veterans' graves

Cadets try to ensure that the graves they work on are restored to the best possible condition

Army cadets in South Yorkshire have been trained to maintain Commonwealth war graves and the graves of veterans awarded the Victoria Cross.

The Victoria Cross Trust has been training cadets in Doncaster and Sheffield to find and record the location of graves, check their condition and aid its programme to restore them.

Vicki Brooks, Army cadet volunteer and group leader for what is known as the Eyes On, Hands On scheme, said she wanted to make it a legacy programme.

She said: "It's important we keep their names alive, because if we lose our veterans and we've got no stories from World War One and World War Two, it just becomes another page in a book."

The Eyes On, Hands On programme was created in 2019 by the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation (CWGF), the charitable arm of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).

It has recruited and trained more than 2,000 volunteers across the UK who inspect war graves with the CWGC across more than 12,500 locations.

The CWGF said the cadets' work was so impressive it had decided to change its policy to officially work with youth groups in the future.

Many of the cadets completed the project as part of Duke of Edinburgh Awards

Ms Brooks said it was a great opportunity for cadets who wanted to do something different, with many of those taking part in the project as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.

"On top of going and checking the condition, cleaning the graves, doing all the records and pictures, they're doing a research project on the side of it," she explained.

"As long as the veterans' names are alive, they will never be forgotten."

The Victoria Cross Trust is a charity that works to ensure the graves of Victoria Cross recipients are remembered and maintained.

The award is the highest military decoration which is given to members of the British armed forces who, in the presence of the enemy, display ultimate bravery, an act of self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty.

The Army Cadet Force is a youth organisation for ages 12 to 17 that is sponsored by the Army.

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