The Ministry of Defence does officially commemorate the final resting place of all those who die in service and the UK Government contributes close to £40 million each year towards the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to mark and maintain the graves, and the official memorials for those who have no known grave, of some 1.7 million Commonwealth service personnel who died during the two World Wars.
However, the Department does not have the responsibility for war memorials. This responsibility rests with the owner of the memorial, which, in the case of the Lutyens War Memorial in Bury, is the Trustees of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum, an independent charity.