The Aims of the Project | ||
Thousands of men and women died in the service of Britain and the Commonwealth during two world wars and yet there is no official recognition of their sacrifice. | ||
The In From The Cold Project (IFCP) was formed more than twenty years ago to research and identify all service men and women missing from the official Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) list of casualties from the First and Second World Wars. Our task is to get these soldiers, sailors and airmen their due recognition – even after the passing of so many years. Unfortunately, many names were missed from the lists supplied to the Commission and, as a result, many casualties have no official commemoration. Record keeping was not always as accurate as it should have been back in the pre-computer days of the early twentieth century. With modern technology and the greater accessibility to remaining records, it is possible, through painstaking and often tedious research, to find many of these missing names and to gather the supporting evidence required for recognition by CWGC and the appropriate military authorities. |
||
The Work of IFCP | ||
The majority of missing names relate to the First World War. The number who died in that first world conflict was far greater as far as the Commonwealth was concerned than in the Second World War. Even though most cases relate to that first conflict, IFCP works on cases from both wars and, in addition, processes missing WW2 Civilian War Dead casualties who are also commemorated by CWGC. Their names appear in the Roll of Honour displayed in Westminster Abbey, London. IFCP does not confine its activities to the forces of the United Kingdom alone and the Project covers all Commonwealth nationalities. We have volunteers around the world with particularly active teams in Australia and South Africa. |
||
IFCP Progress | ||
At the time of writing, IFCP has processed over seven thousand cases – men and women whose sacrifice had been forgotten or overlooked and who now have their due recognition alongside their comrades. Many of them now have official war grave headstones over their graves and others appear on CWGC memorials to the missing. Several new research resources have become available in recent times to assist with the work. With these new records, we are still uncovering the names of men who died in service as well as many hundreds who died after discharge due to injury or illness caused by or aggravated by their service. As yet, there is no end in sight and we anticipate our work continuing for many years to come. |
||
How Can You Help? | ||
IFCP and its work is funded by donations from the public and its volunteers. Our launch grant from the Ministry of Defence for the purchase of documentary evidence was used up some time ago and now we depend on the generosity of people who care about seeing these men and women properly commemorated. If you feel able to donate any amount to assist in this work, your contribution will be much appreciated and will be put to good use. All donations received are used solely for paying for any required documentary evidence for our work. None of your money will be used to fund IFCP’s administration costs. Thank You. |
||
This website is provided as a facility for the distribution of news from IFCP and to assist all researchers working on the task of getting non-commemorated servicemen their due commemoration. |
||
In From The Cold Project Ensuring that the sacrifice of British and Commonwealth servicemen in two world wars is not forgotten. |
||