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 not until the roll was 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 .