By Free walking tours at Scartho Road Cemetery to give poignant insight into World War history
From this week until October, residents in North East Lincolnshire will have the chance to enjoy free guided walking tours to discover the war graves at Scartho Road Cemetery in Grimsby.
Organised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), the walking tours will take place every two weeks through August, September and October, and will give locals the chance to learn about the World War heritage on their doorstep.
Each tour will be led by local resident Barry Wallis, who has been volunteering for the Commission since January this year.
Scartho Road Cemetery is the final resting place of more than 500 casualties from World War I and World War II.
According to the CWGC, many of the First World War burials are men who died of sickness or wounds while being treated in Grimsby Military Hospital and Brocklesby Hall.
Over 100 burials are men of the Royal Naval Reserve, most of whom served on trawlers, and who died during minesweeping and anti-submarine operations in local waters.
During the Second World War, the Grimsby fishing fleet was once again called into service. It effectively became the largest minesweeper unit on the British coast, clearing over 34,000 mines from vital sea lanes, at a cost of more than 2,300 lives.
The cemetery contains the graves of 14 German prisoners of war who died in a camp at nearby Weelsby Woods, as well as those of two Italians and one Norwegian sailor.
Liz Woodfield from the CWGC said: “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for war graves at more than 12,500 locations in the UK and this means there is a way for us all to connect to our local World War heritage.
“There is a wealth of World War history across all four corners of the United Kingdom, from large CWGC cemeteries and memorials to single headstones in remote churchyards, you’re never too far away from one of our sites.
“We’re encouraging people to seek out the stories in their local area and book onto a free tour this summer.”
The tours will be held on Saturday 7 August, and then once a fortnight on 21 August, 11 September, 25 September, 9 October and 23 October, and tickets can be booked here.
