War Graves Week will be marked with free guided tours in St Albans over this weekend and into next week.

The tours will take place at St Albans Cemetery in Hatfield Road, where more than 229 casualties from both world wars are buried.

There are many remarkable stories surrounding the local people who are buried there, including a 21-year-old nurse who died tending the wounded and a local man who came back from Australia to fight.

Another local soldier in the cemetery is John George Coleman, who was just 16 years old when he was killed and who lived in Kings Road where soldiers from the First World War were recently honoured with a memorial.

The tours of the cemetery are being organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), and will be led by Marc Raven, a volunteer guide.


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They are part of War Graves Week, an initiative aimed at encouraging people from the local community to come together and discover the world war heritage accessible on their doorstep.

Claire Horton, director general of the CWGC, said: “Behind every name on a war grave or memorial in St Albans is a human story waiting to be discovered and War Graves Week is the perfect opportunity to do just that.

“As world leaders in commemoration, our mission is to ensure those who died in service, or as a result of conflict, are commemorated so that they, and the human cost of war, are remembered forever.”

The tours will take place on Sunday, May 21 and Wednesday, May 24, at 11am and 2pm. To book a place, visit www.cwgc.org/wargravesweek.