Local MP Caroline Dinenage is encouraging people to apply for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Centenary Interns programme.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is seeking applications from the brightest and the best young people aged 18+ to join a new CWGC Centenary Interns programme in 2017.
The CWGC Centenary Interns will join the Commission for four months, based in France and Belgium, to welcome visitors to some of the CWGC's most well-known sites. These will include the CWGC Tyne Cot Cemetery near Ieper (Ypres), which will be the focus of the UK Government commemorations of the Centenary of Passchendaele: Third Battle of Ypres in July 2017.
The CWGC Centenary Interns will welcome visitors to, and guide them around, CWGC cemeteries and memorials. They will also undertake research and help offer context and a clearer understanding of both the CWGC and the First World War, from the perspective of people the same age as many of the war dead.
UK Government funding for the new programme was announced by former Chancellor George Osborne on the Centenary of the Battle of the Somme in July 2016, and it will launch early in the New Year. Over the next two years the CWGC expects to bring more than 40 interns to the Western Front, funded by a £600,000 LIBOR grant.
CWGC Director General Mrs Victoria Wallace, said
"This is a fantastic opportunity for young people interested in the First World War to help others gain a real insight into the workings of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which has done such wonderful work in commemorating the fallen of the two World Wars for 100 years. The CWGC Centenary Interns will be able to welcome and help visitors, and share with them the stories of so many of those we commemorate. It is a chance to be right at the heart of the UK and Commonwealth commemorations in France and Belgium in 2017 and 2018. Please tell any enthusiastic young people you know to consider this great role, playing a part in marking such historic anniversaries."
Caroline added
"These internships are an exciting, high quality opportunity as well as an appropriate and enduring way to remember and reflect on the First World War.
The successful applicants will get a fantastic chance to be right at the centre of the commemorations and it will have an incredible impact on the way they look at life."
Those wishing to apply can find full details on the CWGC Blog at blog.cwgc.org/interns2017 or register their interest via [email protected].
