The annual report of the Isle of Man Government Preservation of War Memorials Committee will be laid before Tynwald this month.

The Committee was established to oversee the identification, registration and maintenance of over 150 war memorials across the Island, which range from wall mounted plaques to large stone monuments.

The report outlines the work of the Committee, which is carried out in close liaison with Manx National Heritage.

A comprehensive war memorial database has been made available via the iMuseum website, and includes digital mapping and historic information.

The Committee has expanded its efforts to locate families of those who died in service after World War Two, providing advice on how their loved one’s name could be included in a memorial.

Committee Chairman Juan Watterson MHK said: “The work of our Committee has a special resonance this year as the public has engaged with acts of remembrance through the 70th anniversary of the end of World War Two and the continuing centenary celebrations of World War One.”

“It is important that the legacy of peace that we enjoy today is constantly remembered through the memorials constructed by those left behind, and the Committee is pleased that it has a role in protecting them,” he added.

Mr Watterson thanked the Committee for its continued work and welcomed the appointment of The Venerable Andrew Brown, Archdeacon of Man to strengthen the close relationship with Isle of Man Church authorities.

In the report the Committee noted its support for the War Memorials Bill which has begun to progress through the legislature. This would place a duty of care on the owners of Island’s War memorials to preserve and maintain them.