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Such visits are not only a great encouragement to the Commission's staff in their work, but also serve to remind people of the great imptance attached to the commemoration of the war dead.
Other distinguished visitors to Commonwealth war cemeteries this year include the Prime Minister of Canada, the Rt Hon Brian Mulroney, who visited Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong, in May, and the Deputy Prime Minister of India, Mr Devi Lal, who visited Kohima War Cemetery in India. The British Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Douglas Hurd, visited Helio- polis War Cemetery in Egypt in October, and an Australian Parliamentary delegation visited sites near Ieper in September.
I was privileged to accompany the Commission's President during his visits to Crete and the Somme, and in September 1990 I inspected cemeteries in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. My fellow Commis- sioners have also been able to visit cemeteries in Japan, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Italy during the year, where they were able to verify for themselves the standards of maintenance achieved in such a wide variety of places.
There have been several changes in the Commission's membership in the past twelve months, both on the official and non-official side; full details can be found on page 36. We thank all those who have moved on for so generously giving of their time and for their wise counsel that has helped to direct the Commission's activities over a number of years. Looking to the future, we are very pleased to welcome the new Commissioners and hope that they will enjoy their time serving the Commonwealth in this way.
It is a great pleasure to report a number of honours conferred on Commission staff. Mr Arthur Leech (Senior Head Gardener in France) was awarded the British Empire Medal. The Royal Horticultural Society medal for 40 years' service to horticulture with one employer was awarded to Messrs Claude Browne, Reginald Gander and Roland Wells.
Robert Ford
The Canadian Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Brian Mulroney, at Sai Wan War Cemetery, Hong Kong