CREATING HALLOWED GROUND

On August 3, 1914, Sir Edward Grey, British Foreign Secretary, said to a friend, “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.” The so-called Great War lasted more than four years at the cost of an estimated 9.7 million soldiers. The sacrifice of so many called for remembrance of the fallen in each warring nation. In Britain, one man anticipated this need—even during the war’s earliest stages.

Little known and underappreciated, Fabian Ware was born on June 17, 1869 in Bristol, England. His father, a chartered accountant, was a member of the Plymouth Brethren, a nonconformist Christian movement. Fabian was educated with strict emphasis on the ideals of duty and piety. At age 18 he became a teacher to fund his university studies after his father’s death.

Ware became an inspector to schools and wrote books on educational reform. In 1901 he travelled to South Africa to help with reconstruction following the Second Boer War (1899-1902). Establishing himself as a skilled administrator, he became Director of Education in the Transvaal. While in South Africa, he developed a love for public service. Back in England in 1905, he became editor of the , covering news of colonial affairs and supporting social reform. Matters of social reform became controversial and in 1911 Ware left his post, becoming consultant to the Rio Tinto mining company where he put his linguistic skills