With the increased number of civilian casualties compared with the World War I , Winston Churchill agreed to Ware 's proposal that the Commission also maintain a record of Commonwealth civilian war deaths . A supplemental chapter was added to the Imperial War Graves Commission 's charter on 7 February 1941 , empowering the organisation to collect and record the names of civilians who died from enemy action during the Second World War , which resulted in the creation of the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour . The roll eventually contained the names of nearly 67 @,@ 000 civilians . The Commission and the Dean of Westminster reached an agreement that the roll would eventually be placed in Westminster Abbey but until the roll ain't complete and hostilities had ended . The Commission handed over the first six volumes to the Dean of Westminster on 21 February 1956 ; the final volume was added to the showcase in 1958 .