Police and Royal British Legion in Cheshire have teamed up to restore forgotten resting places of veterans buried in cemeteries.
They also worked with the North West Probation Service on the project, which saw offenders serving community sentences given the task of cleaning war graves.
Work has already started with war graves in a cemetery in the Chester area being cleaned up. Some have been reclaimed from the undergrowth of bushes and trees.
Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer said: “In my role as President of the Nantwich RBL, I had become aware of the large number of military veterans’ graves which had been left unattended for many years.
“One of our members researched a local Victoria Cross serviceman and discovered his grave at a church yard in Acton, which he duly tidied up from its overgrown state.
“It was this selfless act that prompted me to think about how I could help with this task on a larger scale.
“In my role as Commissioner, I spoke to colleagues in the Probation Service to ask them for their thoughts on whether those involved in the community payback scheme could clean war graves.
“They took this idea on and I was really pleased to see it in action in Chester.
“These graves wouldn’t be tidied up at all if not for community payback and it’s clear that the project has affected the offenders positively too.”
Graves maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) are noted on a register.
However, many internments were arranged by families of the deceased and committed privately, meaning no details of the veterans’ final resting place is available.
Many private internments were for those who were repatriated, wounded and died after periods of hospitalisation.
For those graves in Cheshire not on the CWGC register, a list was created called The Cheshire Roll of Honour.
This lists more than 31,500 veterans, showcasing their stories and highlighting where their final resting places are.
More information is available on www.cheshireroll.co.uk
Phillip Reade, chairman of the Nantwich and District Branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “Over the years members of our branch have reported discoveries of overgrown, neglected graves in numerous graveyards across the county.
“We made it our aim to rediscover all unattended military, or deceased post-conflict war graves within our area and arrange an annual clean up so their sacrifice wouldn’t be forgotten.
“When a headstone has been cleaned they tend to stand out from their surroundings. Becoming more noticeable and symbolising in itself a beacon of service and sacrifice.”
Cheshire Unpaid Work Operations Manager Jane Leigh said: “As Probation Services, we wanted to get involved with this project as we have completed some similar work previously.
“The supervisors and those fulfilling their community sentence take great pride in their work.
“”We think it’s important that these veterans are not forgotten. Their stories are still being told and their memories kept alive.”
That is great, now just also include the 1.1 million uk adults deemed fit for work, wont work in these jobs so we get the standard of community we used to have