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Ada's photographs, taken to send to relatives who were
unable to visit in person, show that the cemeteries were
in many cases simply areas cordoned off from the surrounding
battlefields by barbed wire, with most of the graves marked
by a simple wooden cross with a metal nameplate tag. There
were also some more individual memorials made by colleagues
of the dead servicemen, such as the crosses fashioned
from wooden propellers that marked the grave of RFC and
RAF members.
Salvation Army "sisters" would visit cemeteries
on behalf of those unable to visit and put some flowers
on the graves on their behalf. A photograph would then
be taken and this would be sent, with a card containing
a few pressed flowers and a letter, to the bereaved family.
A letter from Staff Captain Mary Booth , written in October
1918 (before the Armistice) to a Mrs Carter states;
"Some of our comrades visited the Cemetery where
your dear one rests on Wednesday and took the opportunity
of placing a few fresh flowers on his grave on your behalf.
Although I fear they will be very faded, I enclose a few
on a card, feeling sure you would like them, seeing they
have actually been on the spot so dearly treasured in
your heart". She goes on to describe the "beautifully
cared for" cemetery before asking God to comfort
and bless the family.
Ada and her colleagues continued with this work until
late 1922, by which time most of the cemeteries had been
taken over by the Imperial War Graves Commission (now
the Commonwealth War Graves commission), and furnished
with the standard white headstones.
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Ada tending the grave of a family friend, Pte G. Bougourd,
R.G.L.I. at Seranvillers. A photo was sent home to his
family.
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