What’s here?

You may be surprised to know that

over 300,000 Commonwealth war

dead are commemorated in the

United Kingdom – in almost 13,000

different locations. This is the highest

total of world war commemorations

in any country, other than France.

Enquiries on location of individual burials orcommemorations may be directed to these officesor to the Commission’s web site at www.cwgc.orgwhere there is an online searchable database.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission 2 Marlow Road MaidenheadBerkshireSL6 7DXTel: +44 (0) 1628 507200Fax: +44 (0) 1628 771208E-mail: enquiries@cwgc.orgE-mail: ukaoffice@cwgc.org

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Why?

The practice of non-repatriation of the dead

established during the First World War meant

that Commonwealth servicemen and women,

who died on active service abroad, were

buried there.

The majority of those buried in the UK –

more than 170,000 casualties – are the men

and women who died at home in military

hospitals. Others may have died in training

accidents or air raids and some were killed in

action in the air or at sea in coastal waters,

their bodies washed ashore.

For most of these casualties the UK was their

home. As wartime service burials for those

who died in their own country were not

strongly regulated, they were largely laid

to rest not in war cemeteries, but in

locations chosen by their families – often

in family graves scattered throughout

cemetery grounds.

The graves of those for whom the UK was

not home are centred in areas where there

were troop concentrations, military training

camps and hospitals, and, during the Second

World War, air force bases from which

Commonwealth squadrons operated.

Over 100,000 missing naval and air force

casualties are also commemorated on the

great memorials at Chatham, Plymouth,

Portsmouth, Tower Hill and Runnymede.

Who looks after them?

The Commonwealth War Graves

Commission has a responsibility for all

the war graves in the UK, but the wide

dispersal and variety of war graves

throughout the UK demands a unique

approach to their care.

In other countries the majority of

cemeteries fall under the Commission’s

direct control, but in the UK they are

largely maintained by third parties.

There are just over 4,100 maintenance

agreements in place with local

authorities, churches, councils,

contractors and even individuals.

A team of regional supervisors ensures

that all maintenance agreements are

satisfactory and mobile craftsmen,

stonemasons and gardeners supplement

contractors’ work where required.THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

Front Cover: Cambridge City Cemetery

Harrogate (Stonefall) CemeteryRunnymede Memorial

What to look for

Directly maintained sites

Only a small number of cemeteries

in the UK are directly controlled

and cared for by our staff; such as

Brookwood Military Cemetery,

Cambridge City Cemetery, Cannock

Chase War Cemetery, Newark Upon

Trent Cemetery and Harrogate

(Stonefall) Cemetery. These sites

bear the strongest comparisons to

those overseas.

Military cemeteries

Here war graves appear alongside

other non-world war service burials.

These cemeteries largely remain the

property of the Ministry of Defence,

with the Commission taking

responsibility for the war graves.

War Grave Plots

In both world wars land was set

aside by cemetery authorities and

churches specifically for war burials.

There are about 600 of these plots,

containing between them around

40,000 graves. They generally contain

horticultural and structural features

common to the Commonwealth war

cemeteries abroad – including a

Cross of Sacrifice if the plot, or total

number of graves, is large enough.

Screen Walls

Where local regulations prevented the marking

of individual graves by headstones screen walls

were erected to commemorate the individuals

by name – they are also used to commemorate

casualties whose remains were cremated and in

instances of ‘alternative commemoration’, where

for any reason the graves in a cemetery or

churchyard are no longer maintainable and a

decision is taken to provide alternative

commemoration for the casualties.

Scattered War Graves

Individual graves account for the great majority of

war burials in the UK and are to be found in

every conceivable type of burial ground –

including your local churchyard. The majority are

commemorated by Commission headstones but a

significant number, over 30,000, are marked by

private memorials chosen by relatives at the time.

Memorials

More than 130,000 of the Commonwealth

servicemen and women commemorated in the

UK have no known grave but are remembered,

by name, on memorials to the missing.

Where to go

Brookwood Military Cemetery

Thirty miles from London, Brookwood Military

Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth war

cemetery in the UK – covering around 37 acres

and commemorating over 5,000 identified

casualties. In addition to the Commonwealth

plots, the cemetery also contains French, Polish,

Czech, Belgian, Italian and American sections and

a number of war graves of other nationalities.

Runnymede Memorial

Overlooking the River Thames, between

Windsor and Egham, the Runnymede Memorial

commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen

and women who were lost in the Second

World War, and who have no known grave.

Tower Hill Memorial

Standing on the south side of the garden of

Trinity Square, close to the Tower of London,

the Tower Hill Memorial commemorates men

and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing

Fleets who died in both world wars and who

have no known grave. The First World War

section commemorates 12,000 casualties and

the Second World War extension

commemorates a further 24,000.

Cliveden War Cemetery

Located within the grounds of National Trust

property, Cliveden House, Cliveden War

Cemetery commemorates 42 world war

casualties. The majority are First World War

burials associated with the then nearby

Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross

Hospital (1914-1917), and No.15 Canadian

General Hospital (1918-1919). As this

cemetery is within private property, visitors

should contact the Estate Office before visiting

– Tel: 01628 605069.

Cambridge City Cemetery

Cambridge City Cemetery contains over 180

First World War burials and more than 820

Second World War burials – three of which

are unidentified. The First World War casualties

are largely associated with the 1st Eastern

General Hospital which was posted to

Cambridge during the war. The Second World

War graves are to be found in two separate

plots. The General Service Plot was

established in 1940 and the Air Force Plot was

established in 1942, for the burial of casualties

from Air Force stations set up in the eastern

counties during the war.

Cliveden War Cemetery Brookwood Military Cemetery

T H E I R N A M E L I V E T H F O R E V E R M O R E

Cannock Chase War Cemetery

Manchester (Philips Park) Cemetery Cross of Sacrifice and Screen Wall

Cambridge City Cemetery