As the war continued , Ware and others became concerned about the fate of the graves in the post @-@ war period . Following a suggestion by the British Army , the National Committee for the Care of Soldiers ' Graves was appointed by the British government in January 1916 , with Edward , Prince of Wales agreeing to serve as president . The National Committee for the Care of Soldiers ' Graves was created with the intention of taking over the work of the Directorate of Graves Registration and Enquiries after the war . The government felt that it was more appropriate to entrust the work to a specially appointed body rather than to any existing government department . By early 1917 a number of members of the committee believed a formal imperial organisation would be needed to care for the graves . With the help of Edward , Prince of Wales , Ware submitted a memorandum to the Imperial War Conference in 1917 suggesting that an imperial organisation be constituted . The suggestion was accepted and on 21 May 1917 the Imperial War Graves Commission was established by Royal Charter , with the Prince of Wales serving as president , Secretary of State for War Lord Derby as chairman and Ware as vice @-@ chairman . The Commission 's undertakings began in earnest at the end of the First World War . Once land for cemeteries and memorials had been guaranteed , the enormous task of recording the details of the dead could begin . By 1918 , some 587 @,@ 000 graves had been identified and a further 559 @,@ 000 casualties were registered as having no known grave .