War vets urged to check list of names

The Ministry of Works and Engineering is making a final appeal to all veterans who served in the First World War and Second World War to ensure that their names are included on the new War Memorial that is under construction on the grounds of Cabinet Office. To date, some 2,000 names have been identified for engraving on the new Memorial.

It is believed that more Bermudians per capita than any other country in the world volunteered to serve in the First Word War (1914-1918). They served in all of the great battles of the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme in France, which lasted for six months and claimed nearly a million lives. 

After the First World War, the Government of the day promised a War Memorial and the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, laid the foundation stone in the Cabinet Grounds in 1920. A competition was held for the design. The Memorial was never built and pensions and benefits were never given to the returning soldiers.

After the Second World War (1939-45), there was no change in the Government's attitude towards Bermuda's returning soldiers, but a war memorial does exist for smaller separate units, like the BVRC Memorial in Victoria Park. 

Bermuda’s military units were segregated at the time of the World Wars and the records of many soldiers, particularly black soldiers, have been poorly maintained.  Many others do not exist at all. The current campaign aims at righting an historic wrong in the Bermuda community.  The aim is to recognize appropriately the First and Second World War service of all of Bermuda’s residents. The new War Memorial will honour the sacrifice of every Bermudian man and woman who served in the Great Wars.

Until the Government amended the War Pensions and Services Act in 2007, Bermudians who served in the defence of Bermuda and nearly all black veterans and their widows received no acknowledgement or benefits. 

The Government has extended benefits to veterans and widows to include free hospital treatment, respite and palliative care, a monthly pension and a funeral grant. There were extensive benefits available in the 1919 and 1947 versions of the War Pensions and Services Act, but unlike other Commonwealth countries which had similar Acts, the benefits were never made properly available in Bermuda.

It is to be noted that the Cenotaph, located on the Cabinet Grounds, is not a war memorial. Instead, it is an 'empty tomb' that reflects in abstract the 'Glorious Dead' who perished in the two World Wars. It is a miniature model of the Cenotaph in London.

The Ministry of Works and Engineering has launched an appeal to the community to ensure all their names are included on the War Memorial and the public is encouraged to contact Ms. Carol Everson at 533-4567 or via email at [email protected] to provide details of any Bermudian war veteran.