The Veteran Who Travels Britain to Restore Forgotten Military Graves

For the past eight years, former soldier and stonemason Steve Davies has been travelling across Britain to restore military graves that have been neglected for decades.

The 68-year-old began the work after discovering the badly overgrown grave of an 18-year-old Rifle Brigade soldier. The inscription was almost impossible to read, and Davies decided that the grave deserved better care.

He and his wife restored that first grave. When they returned the following week, they found five more that needed attention.

Since then, Davies estimates that he has helped restore about 1,600 military graves, including graves commemorating recipients of the Victoria Cross.

Restoring More Than Gravestones

Davies now works through a not-for-profit community interest company. Two researchers help identify relatives of the people buried in the graves, while Davies works with veterans and community volunteers on restoration projects.

In Ripon, volunteers recently gathered at St John’s Church in Sharow to clean 240 military gravestones. Many had been covered with mould and lichen for around 70 years.

The project also gives veterans an opportunity to work together. Some participants have taken part in training sessions organised by Davies and later found employment in the stonemasonry industry.

A Community Effort

Local residents have also joined the restoration work. Among them was teenager Joe Catton, who said he wanted to help after learning that the graves had been in poor condition for years.

For Davies, the work is also a way of keeping the stories of those buried there visible. Many of the graves belong to people who served during major conflicts but no longer have relatives able to maintain their memorials.

The restoration projects bring together veterans, young volunteers and local residents, turning neglected burial grounds into places where the names and histories of those who served can once again be clearly seen.

After years of travelling from one forgotten grave to another, Davies continues to take on new projects, helping communities preserve pieces of their local history one gravestone at a time.

Sources

• BBC News — “The veteran who travels the country cleaning military graves”
• BBC News — Yorkshire coverage of the Ripon restoration project