Veteran condemns 'lack of respect' for war graves

A ROYAL Navy veteran has hit out at what he describes as a lack of respect shown to military graves in Liskeard following routine maintenance work carried out by contractors working for Cornwall Council.

Neil Walsh, a member of Liskeard Royal British Legion, says he has repeatedly been left to clear up grass cuttings, spoil and debris from carefully maintained Commonwealth War Graves and military memorials after contractors complete their strimming work.

The former Executive Warrant Officer Class 1, who served in the Royal Navy from 1987 until 2025, has spent almost five years volunteering his time to restore and care for graves of those who served their country.

Neil currently looks after around 40 Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), Ministry of Defence (MOD), wider military and service graves across St Martin’s Church and Lanchard Cemetery.

Of those, 25 are at St Martin’s, including 13 Commonwealth War Graves and 12 wider military graves, while Lanchard Cemetery contains 15, including eight Commonwealth War Graves, one MOD grave and six wider military graves.

However, he says the twice-yearly maintenance visits by CORMAC or subcontractors working on behalf of Cornwall Council regularly undo hours of his work.

“Every time the contractors come in, they leave the place in a terrible state,” Neil said. “I don’t just look after the Commonwealth War Graves – I look after all the military graves as well. There are about 40 altogether across the two cemeteries.

“Every single one ends up covered in spoil, grass cuttings and debris. It took me two weeks to get them back to the standard they were before.”

Neil says he visits the cemeteries twice a week as a volunteer, while contractors only carry out cutting work twice a year.

“We complained through the Royal British Legion last year and were told the contractors would go back afterwards with blowers to clear everything up,” he said. “They’ve never done that. They might tell their bosses they do, but they don't.”

Neil says the situation has been particularly frustrating after dedicating years to bringing the graves back to a high standard.

“I’ve spent nearly five years getting these graves up to a high standard, then someone comes along and, with no respect whatsoever, leaves them covered in rubbish. It’s obvious they’re being cared for, but that doesn’t seem to matter.

“I can’t look after the whole cemetery – that would take years – but the graves I care for are easy to spot because every one has a poppy on it. They deserve respect.”

He also raised concerns after seeing workers handling headstones during maintenance work.

“I saw two workers pushing and shaking headstones,” he said. “One of them started moving a Commonwealth War Grave and I told him he couldn’t touch it because it belongs to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.”

Neil was told the headstones were being checked because of ants, but believes unnecessary handling could create more problems.

“The only people making them unstable were the ones shaking them,” he added.

The graves Neil looks after date from the Boer War through to the Second World War and include Royal Navy, Royal Marines and British Army personnel, as well as a Ministry of Defence grave for a serviceman who died while serving.

“We’ve raised the issue through the Royal British Legion, but we’ve seen zero improvement,” he said. “As Commonwealth War Graves volunteers, we’re told not to confront people. If something’s wrong, we leave it and report it afterwards. But the level of disrespect we witnessed was unbelievable.”

Neil says when he first began volunteering, some of the graves had not been properly cared for in around a decade.

“When I first started, some of these military graves hadn’t been cared for in years,” he said. “A few were almost buried because every time the grass was cut, the spoil was left behind. Twice a year, every year, it just built up deeper and deeper because nobody cleared it away.”

For Neil, the work is deeply personal.

“I served in the Royal Navy for 39 years, so this is very personal to me,” he said. “Between my wife and I we’ve given nearly 60 years of service. Looking after these graves is my way of honouring those who served before us.”

Former Liskeard mayor and town councillor, Simon Cassidy, has backed Neil’s concerns, saying more needs to be done to find a balance between nature-friendly cemetery management and respecting families and military history.

“Neil goes out and spends his own time restoring our Commonwealth War Graves to the standard they should be – beautiful and properly cared for,” he said. “The problem is Cornwall Council then comes in, cuts the grass and sprays the clippings all over the war graves. Neil then has to go back out and clear it all up again.

“These are graves of people who made the ultimate sacrifice, and they deserve to be treated with the respect they have earned. Cornwall Council needs to work with local people. By engaging with residents and families, they can understand the specific issues and find a balance between their approach to nature and people’s expectations when visiting loved ones.”

Neil says he will continue his voluntary work despite his frustrations.

He has also gone beyond caring for official war graves, researching local military history and identifying people with links to the armed forces, including former service personnel and others who deserve to be remembered.

Cornwall Council has been approached for comment.