Samantha Niblett

I thank the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) for giving us this opportunity to speak on behalf of our constituents, past and present. I am honoured to speak on behalf of the people of South Derbyshire and to remember those who gave so much. I am particularly moved by the story of brothers Henry and William Barnett, both of whom died on the first day of the battle of the Somme. Their parents were William and Geraldine Barnett of 37 Market Street in Swadlincote. William, the younger brother, who was a shop assistant, was the first to join up. He enlisted in Church Gresley, and by 25 June 1915 was in France. Henry, who was a sink maker, enlisted on 26 March 1915, and when he was posted to France in December 1915 the two brothers were reunited on the western front. Both served as privates in the first line of the 5th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters, and they were both killed during an attack on the German positions at Gommecourt. They are commemorated alongside one another on the memorial to the missing at Thiepval. In May, I was invited by Shelly Lynn and Joanne Abbassi, two volunteers for the charity In From the Cold Project, to visit the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site in Church Gresley in my constituency. The In From The Cold Project was formed more than 20 years ago to research and identify all servicemen and servicewomen missing from the official Commonwealth War Graves Commission list of casualties from the first and second world wars. Their task is to get these soldiers, sailors and airmen their due recognition, even after the passing of so many years. I was moved by the dedication and diligence of the volunteers in ensuring that all the fallen have a marked Commonwealth war grave, but a passing comment about council charges that are paid out of the volunteers’ own pockets sent me and my team off into a conversation with the Local Government Association to see whether we could seek agreement from local authorities to waive the fees in these special circumstances. I want to give special recognition and a shout-out to Antony Cobley, in my team, who helped make that happen. I am pleased to share with the House that an agreement was reached with the LGA and its new guidance is that fees should be waived across England. Council Matt Boughton, who is chair of the LGA’s safer and stronger communities committee, said: “Preserving the links between local communities and those who served and died in conflict is an important part of ensuring future generations continue to understand and remember their sacrifice. While often modest, charges for record searches can present an additional barrier to organisations trying to identify the final resting places of service personnel. Lifting these charges where they relate to service personnel, which many councils have already done, is a good way to help ensure those who lost their lives in service receive the recognition and commemoration they deserve.” We will never know where so many servicemen and servicewomen from the Somme, world war one, world war two and subsequent wars rest, but all parties are committed to working to ensure that as many unmarked graves are now marked so that we can commemorate those lost for so long. We will remember them.