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War graves lit up in Christmas tribute

Chris DeardenBBC Wales, Llandudno
Home Front Museum, Llandudno A row of three white gravestones arranged in a diagonal row across the shot. It's night time so the area around them is in darkness. Each has a small battery night light in front of it, so they are lit up in a warm orange glow.Home Front Museum, Llandudno
War graves like these in Llandudno's Great Orme cemetery are being lit up with tiny battery candles over Christmas

War graves are being lit up for Christmas as a tribute to soldiers who lost their lives in conflict.

The tradition began in the Netherlands after World War Two, but has spread to the UK in the past few years.

Volunteers have placed battery lights on the graves of fallen soldiers in more than 300 different cemeteries.

In Wales, war graves in 30 places are being lit up, from Llandudno in Conwy county to Llanion in Pembrokeshire.

Home Front Museum, Llandudno A white Portland stone war grave stands in the centre of the shot. It's night time and it is lit up by the warm orange glow of a battery night light candle. In the background are other graves, and the arched window of a small church.Home Front Museum, Llandudno
A total of 41 war graves in the Great Orme cemetery above Llandudno are being lit up between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day

Lights have also been placed on war graves in Aberystwyth, Bridgend, Cathays in Cardiff, Porthcawl and Rhyl.

The lights were put in place on Christmas Eve and will remain there until New Year's Day.

Adrian Hughes, who runs the Home Front Museum in Llandudno, has taken charge of putting battery nightlight candles on more than 50 graves in two cemeteries near the town.

Just before Christmas, he placed 41 small lights on the war graves on the Great Orme headland above the town, followed by another 14 in the churchyard at Llanrhos near Deganwy.

He said: "A couple of years ago I was in the Netherlands at Christmas and was honoured to join in the traditional candle lighting ceremony at Uden War Cemetery, where I placed one on the grave of Capt Donald Lever, a fallen soldier from Llandudno.

"I'm delighted that the concept is now catching on here in the UK under the name of Operation Candlelight.

"I've always felt that we should do more to honour those who gave their lives at times other than November.

"The warm glow of these lights in the winter darkness is a fitting way to do just that."

Adrian Hughes standing facing the camera in a daytime picture, wearing a dark coat and a blue checked shirt. He's in Llandudno's Great Orme cemetery surrounded by green grass punctuated by a diverse range of mainly white gravestones, with a brown bracken-covered hill behind.
Adrian Hughes has lit up over 50 war graves this Christmas

Operation Candlelight is being co-ordinated by a veteran's support organisation called Project 71, which has worked with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to get permission to light up the military graves in this way.

The first lights were placed on war graves in the UK in 2022 – in 2024, lights were placed in 70 different cemeteries, but this year, that number has grown to over 350 sites.

Lorie Coffey from Project 71 said: "Project 71 is a support group for World War Two veterans and it was some of our veterans that drew our attention to the tradition of war graves being lit in the Netherlands.

"I promised them that we would do our best to try and do the same over here.

"I'm hoping it will become a tradition for people to light graves in the UK on Christmas Eve in memory of the fallen and all those that did not have the opportunity to spend Christmas with their families."