David Levy – What constitutes a war grave? – Jan 17
From the time Dover Harbour Board applied to the Marine Management Organisation for a licence to dredge sand and gravels from the Goodwin Sands, off the coast of Kent, there was only one question that the MMO needed to consider. Is this a war grave?
Aircraft with their pilots and crew, and naval crew, have their final resting places on these sands.
They have a right of peaceful rest from human activity, and if you take sand from one area of the Goodwin Sands the circulatory motion and redistribution of sand in the Goodwins means the whole system is disturbed. To me it’s a no-brainer, leave it alone.
I told the MMO it’s a slam dunk decision which they have to make, and to date they have avoided making it. They have discussed many areas of concern, but not considered the question of the Goodwins as a war grave. In my view, they are legally negligent.
It is time the nation’s military service organisations got behind this outrage, and got this area protected for ever.
