In a quiet corner of St John’s cemetery in Pembroke, looking down over the church, is the final resting place of Leading Aircraft Woman Daisy Vallis — the only Bermudian servicewoman to have died in war service.

Ms Vallis was just 28 years old and serving with the Canadian Air Force when she was killed in a car crash in Canada on May 5, 1946, just under a year after the end of the Second World War.

As the world prepares to fall silent tomorrow for the tens of thousands of men and women who died in the two world wars few, apart from relatives and historians, would know much about her story.

This is why it is vital that the stories of those servicemen and women, who paid the ultimate sacrifice, are kept alive and the cemeteries where they are buried are preserved to secure their legacy, according to Andrew Bermingham.

“In Bermuda there are 140 Commonwealth War Graves — 81 from the First World War and 59 from the Second World War,” Mr Bermingham, president of the Bermuda Historical Society, said. “These graves are in 12 cemeteries across Bermuda, 74 of which are at the Royal Naval Cemetery, Ireland Island.

“The vast majority of those who died and are buried in Bermuda were the victims of illness and accidents either on land, at sea or in the air. Of the 140 commemorated, there are a total of 38 Bermudians, 17 from the First World War and 11 from the Second World War.

“These cemeteries are a vital link to our past and the actions of men and women who died while serving their country. Many of these graves are on well-travelled tourist routes going to Dockyard or St George’s.

“So it is absolutely essential that they are properly looked after and respected throughout the year, not just on Remembrance Day.” Each of the 1,696,991 war casualties is commemorated by a simple stone tablet, regardless of rank or status, in cemeteries across the world.

The 140 war graves in Bermuda are administered by Captain Joseph Sipos, a retired Royal Canadian Navy serviceman from the Commissions Canadian Office in Ottawa.

The management of these special sites is shared between Government, the Bermuda National Trust and the West End Development Corporation, while Mr Bermingham, who has had an association with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission since 1994, acts as a liaison.

He told The Royal Gazette: “There are war graves in parish cemeteries, such as St James, St Mary’s, St Paul’s, the Methodist cemetery, St Mark’s and Chapel of Ease.

“The Somerset Military Cemetery is particularly poignant as it contains the graves of four members of the Bermuda Militia Artillery who died of accidental injuries on February 17, 1915, whilst erecting a wireless tower at Daniels Head.

“Also commemorated there are five soldiers of the British West Indies Regiment from Jamaica who died in a pneumonia epidemic in April 1916.”

Mr Bermingham added: “At St John’s cemetery, Pembroke is the grave of the only Bermudian servicewoman to have died in war service, Leading Aircraft Woman Daisy Vallis.

“At the Garrison Cemetery in Prospect are 23 war graves, including that of Staff Sergeant Hyman Israel Gordon, of Zimbabwe, who was a member of the Royal Engineers.

“The youngest commemorated is Private Edward Simons, of the Bermuda Militia Infantry, aged just 17, whose grave is in St Mary’s Church, Warwick.

“It is only right that we should remember people like these on November 11 and the sacrifice they made.”