OUR SOLDIERS' GRAVES. 



5 



Despite these difficulties, however, the majority of our forward 

 cemeteries present a remarkably well-ordered appearance, and great 

 credit is due to the men in whose charge they have been placed. 

 It has been our aim in all such cemeteries to produce as good an effect 

 as possible by simple means, chiefly by the sowing of annuals and 

 grass and by the planting of bulbs, and certainly, during the spring 

 and summer months, the results have amply repaid the labour that 

 has been expended on them. 



That work such as this is appreciated at home we know well, but 

 it has been even more appreciated, we believe, by our men in France. 

 It was seldom that one could visit a military cemetery without finding 

 several of our soldiers there examining the names on the crosses ; 

 and the moral effect of a well-ordered cemetery, bright with flowers, 

 was, we understand, considerate. This perhaps is hardly a matter 

 for wonder, as our cemeteries and the garden plots surrounding 

 Clearing Stations or Field Ambulances were often the only bright 

 and neatly kept spots in the midst of the prevailing desolation. 



A large number of cemeteries were, of course, well within range of 

 enemy guns, and in these horticultural work was scarcely possible ; 

 grave-digging often could only be carried out after dark and any 

 work that was done was liable to destruction. Even cemeteries so 

 situated, however, were not left bare and desolate — bags of seed of 

 mixed annuals were sent to our officers in forward stations for distribu- 

 tion amongst their cemeteries, and these in the summer made a very 

 effective display. In addition the graves have often been planted 

 with small shrubs, herbaceous plants or box — brought in from derelict 

 and abandoned gardens by the cemetery men — which have relieved the 

 barrenness of many a wayside burying-ground in Flanders. 



One of the chief difficulties connected with our work is concerned 

 with the nature of the soil in the cemeteries. The sites are naturally 

 chosen for their convenience, and it is, as a rule, a matter of accident 

 rather than design should the soil happen to be favourable or the site 

 one of particular natural beauty. Despite this, however, many a 

 cemetery is remarkably beautiful either in itself, as when situated 

 in some old country orchard (fig. 6) or in a wood, or alongside a copse, 

 or on account of some commanding view which it gives towards the 

 sea or over a wide expanse of river valley or open country. 



The Italian front offers a great contrast to France. Not only 

 are our cemeteries on a smaller scale, but for the most part they are 

 in very beautiful positions, and afford the most varied possibilities 

 for interesting horticultural treatment. Those in the Riviera and at 

 Taranto will be planted with plants of a sub-tropical character, such 

 as flourish in Lady Hanbury's beautiful garden at La Mortola. 



Perhaps the most beautifully situated of all our military cemeteries 

 in Italy is the one at Bordighera. It is surrounded by groves of 

 date palms ascending the hills, and by fields of carnations, and to the 

 south commands a view over the sea ; when planted and completed 

 it cannot fail to be a very lovely spot. 



