Operation Candlelight 2025

23/12/2025

As we approach Christmas Eve I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has volunteered to place lights on Commonwealth War Graves to remember the fallen at Christmas. 324 sites have now been covered, thanks to you wonderful people.

Please feel free to post your photos here, we are looking forward to seeing them all.

Lastly, to enable us to make this an annual event please ensure that you remove the lights by 1st January.

Thank you all and a very Happy Christmas to one and all.

15/12/2025

Can I please ask all you wonderful people who have volunteered to place nightlights on Commonwealth War Graves on Christmas Eve to please read the guidelines which I have placed below, with special emphasis in placement of the night lights and also removal after Christmas. We are most certainly going to light up the UK on Christmas Eve in memory of the fallen. We could not do this without all you terrific volunteers. Thank you all so much for offering to help.
HOW TO TAKE PART - GUIDELINES
Operation Candlelight returns this Christmas Eve. Together, we will honour the fallen by placing electronic night lights on Commonwealth War Graves across the UK. These small lights will shine throughout Christmas week, a gentle reminder of sacrifice and remembrance.
We have permission to carry out this act of tribute, provided all lights are removed before 1st January.
🌟 How you can help:
Place a light on a Commonwealth War Grave near you.
The light must be a plastic battery operated tea light and must be placed on the ground close to the head stone thus lighting it up. Do not place on the top of the headstones and please do not use glass.
Can you please make sure it is removed by 1st January as we will not be permitted to continue if we leave them there.
Please do not place lights on US graves as we do not have permission to do so.
Dont forget to post your photos on the Operation Candlelight page https://fb.me/e/5ggmzRTcE and if you wish please share to
Let us know your location so we can update the remembrance map. You can find cemeteries near you by using the CWGC web site. https://www.cwgc.org/
Join us in illuminating the nation in memory of those who gave their lives. Any battery operated tea light will do and will shine all over Christmas. Amazon and eBay sell them for around £14 for 50. Please place them at the base of the headstone on the ground not on top as they will blow away.
Let’s make this Christmas Eve glow with gratitude and remembrance.

Welcome to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. We commemorate the 1.7M men and women of the Commonwealth that died during the First & Second World Wars.

09/12/2025

Operation Candlelight 2025.
We are now at 126 cemeteries that will be lit up on Christmas Eve. https://maps.app.goo.gl/unieTPg6xisdkoB77
Thank you to all who have volunteered to help so far.

226 places -

08/12/2025

We have a few dark areas of the UK that are not yet being lit up and I'm reaching out to see if anyone can help.
Norfolk, there are 538 graves in Norwich alone and others throughout Norfolk.
Peterborough, Lincoln and basically all of Lincolnshire.
Kent, has many cemeteries
If you have any friends or relatives in those areas can you please see if they can help.
To find out where the cemeteries are go to the CWGC web site, type in your town and then Search in Cemeteries and memorials on the drop down menu. Thank you

Welcome to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. We commemorate the 1.7M men and women of the Commonwealth that died during the First & Second World Wars.

06/12/2025

Operation Candlelight 2025.
Well have a look at this. Isn't it incredible. We have exceeded last years total. There will be 150 grave yards visited which is approximately over £100k men and women remembered at Christmas. That is over half of the Commonwealth War Graves in the UK which currently stands at over 160k.
100k husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters that did not get to spend Christmas with their families.
By lighting up their grave we are showing that they are not forgotten. If you wish to join in please read the rules above. Thank you to all who have signed up so far. We truly are lighting up the UK this Christmas Eve.

06/12/2025

If anyone is planning to place lights at Brookwood can you please message us first. Thank you

01/12/2025

The map is looking terrific. Thank you to everyone who has pledged to help us light up the UK this year so far. If you would like to join us please get in touch