13 June 2023
7 English cemeteries & memorials to visit this summer
With the summer sun starting to shine over the UK, it’s time to get out and about. Why not visit one of our stunning cemeteries and memorials this summer?
7 Commonwealth War Graves English cemeteries and memorials
Brookwood Military Cemetery
With over 5,600 World War burials spread across 37 acres, Brookwood Military Cemetery is the largest Commission cemetery in the UK.
Like many of our sites, Brookwood reflects the diversity of the nations assembled to fight during the World Wars. British soldiers are buried alongside compatriots from across the Commonwealth, but also free French, Polish, Czechoslovakian, Belgian and Italian casualties.
There is even a significant number of German burials within Brookwood.
So, why should you visit Brookwood Military Cemetery?
Brookwood is the perfect place to get a feel for the scale of the First and Second World Wars. The monumental effort it took to fight these wars, and the human cost, is clear in the serried ranks of Commission headstones.
But there are stories to be discovered here. Every headstone tells a tale, with some Brookwood casualties buried thousands of miles from their homelands.
You can use the Memory Anchor app to find some of these stories on your visit through the power of augmented reality.
Grab the app, head to Brookwood Military Cemetery, and see the stories of those we commemorate.
Runnymede Memorial
Runnymede sits atop a tall hill overlooking a vista blending the winding River Thames as it picks its way through the Surrey countryside, planes rising and landing from Heathrow Airport, and the far-off towers of London.
It’s a site steeped in history. Just on the grassy fields at the base of Coopers Hill, on which Runnymede sits, King John and the Barons inked Magna Carta, the Great Charter, preserving English liberties in 1215.
Today, the site is twice hallowed by the spirit of liberty and shared sacrifice of the 20,000 or so names commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial.
Runnymede commemorates the men and women of the Commonwealth’s air forces lost during World War Two but who have no known grave. They came from across the globe and gave their lives in pursuit of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The Runnymede Memorial offers a contemplative oasis of calm in a busy world. The memorial’s central courtyard offers a great space to rest and remember the courage and sacrifice of so many of the names listed at Runnymede.
You can also go in-depth with a special exhibition on one Runnymede casualty: the remarkable Noor Inayat Khan.
This incredibly brave woman threw herself into one of the most dangerous roles of World War Two at great personal cost. Learn her story at Runnymede.
Tower Hill Memorial
Think Tower Hill, sat within the middle of one of the largest cities on earth, is an odd place for a maritime memorial? Think again.
London was once the heart of the major maritime trading empire. During the World Wars, her docks were alive with the business of supplying the war effort: loading and unloading important cargo onto ships, moving men and materiel across the world, and helping keep the Commonwealth and her allies fighting.
Tower Hill Memorial commemorates the men and women of the Merchant Marine who lost their lives during the World Wars. Some 36,000 names from all over the world are commemorated at Tower Hill, split into two First and Second World War sections.
These individuals played an incredibly important role in keeping much-needed supplies flowing during wartime. Many, unfortunately, paid the ultimate price performing this vital duty, and have no known grave but the sea.
Visit Tower Hill to remember and reflect on their sacrifice. You can also use Memory Anchor augmented reality to find and pick out individual stories of incredible bravery while at Tower Hill.
Public engagement tours also help bring to life the story of the fallen of Tower Hill. Check out what’s happening near you to find the latest Tower Hill tour plus many more taking place all over the UK!
Tower Hill lies surrounded by more of London’s historic past. The Tower of London, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, and London Roman Walls are all close to the memorial, making it the ideal stop on a history lover’s tour of the capital.
Portland Royal Naval Cemetery
Because of the nature of naval warfare, those who served in the military and merchant marines of the Commonwealth were often lost at sea. They may not have their own war graves, but their names are commemorated on memorials around the world.
But at sites like Portland Royal Naval Cemetery, there are hundreds of Commonwealth sailors and naval personnel with individual war graves. Each has been topped off by an iconic CWGC headstone too.
During World War One, Portland was a regular training base for Royal Navy personnel. U-boat hunting patrols also used Portland as their base too.
Portland Naval Base was once again a training hub during the Second World War. The harbour was used as a major D-Day embarkation point too, with the US 1st Division destined for Omaha Beach leaving for Normandy via Portland.
Whether pulled from the sea or lost in accidents, Portland commemorates 154 World War Commonwealth burials. It’s an interesting location due to the large presence of naval personnel with their own individual war graves.
Hollybrook Memorial
The purpose of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is to ensure our World War casualties are all commemorated equally.
The Hollybrook Memorial within the grounds of Southampton (Hollybrook) Cemetery tells this story.
One on one hand, Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener and one of the most powerful and storied men of the Great War, is commemorated on Hollybrook.
So too are the crew of the SS Mendi: black South African labourers who tragically died thousands of miles from home in cold waters after a ship collision off the coast of the Isle of Wight.
The lives of the crew of the SS Mendi and Earl Kitchener could not have been further apart, yet here they are, commemorated side by side by the Hollybrook Memorial.
You will often find Generals, Admirals, Air Marshals, and other high-ranking military figures commemorated thus on CWGC cemeteries and memorials around the world.
Memorials like Hollybrook are worth visiting for a reminder that, regardless of nationality, race, religion, or social standing, the sacrifices made by those in the World Wars are all equally worthy of remembrance.
Cannock Chase German War Cemetery
Cannock Chase is unique amongst our British cemeteries & memorials. Can you guess why?
Travel to the neatly designed Staffordshire site and once you’ve traversed the lock brick entry building with its Verdigris patina roof, you might notice something a little different about the headstones.
Rather than gently sloping in the manner of your stereotypical CWGC headstone, you’ll notice that Cannock Chase’s headstones are a stockier, rectangular shape, with a harsher granite grey finish.
That’s because these headstones do not commemorate Commonwealth personnel. Instead, the war graves in Cannock Chase are for fallen German soldiers.
During the Great War, Cannock Chase was home to a large military camp, which became home to the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.
Within the campgrounds there also lay a 1,000-bed hospital dedicated to the treatment of prisoners of war.
Many of these PoWs who died were transferred to a nearby burial ground. Eventually, this was expanded.
Some 4,750 German soldiers and some civilians today rest eternally at Cannock Chase German Military Cemetery.
The majority of burials were moved here after 1959 when an agreement was struck between the UK and German governments to transfer to a central cemetery in the United Kingdom of all graves which were not situated in cemeteries and plots of Commonwealth war graves maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in situ.
Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery
Bomber Command had a terrible time during the Second World War.
This most controversial of air services had the unenviable task of bombing targets often thousands of miles from home, in vulnerable aircraft, for hours at a time with little to no electrical flight aides.
More than 50% of Bomber Command’s flight crews lost their lives in World War Two.
You will often find burials relating to Bomber Command in cemeteries set close to former operational bases and RAF airfields. Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery is one such location.
Harrogate became a site of fervent Bomber Command activity during wartime. Many airfields were constructed in and around this part of Yorkshire. RAF stations were augmented by the presence of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) units and bases too.
No.6 (RCAF) Bomber Group, for example, was close by at Knaresborough with several airfields feeding the RAF presence. No.4 Bomber Group also called Yorkshire its home.
If men and machines were lost over enemy territory, it often became impossible to recover and return their remains. Such casualties are commemorated on memorials such as that at Runnymede.
Other times, limping aircraft would be able to return to safe skies and deliver sick or wounded passengers into medical care on home soil.
Nearly 1,000 Second World War Commonwealth burials are located at Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery. Around two-thirds of them are Canadian service personnel. The remainder come from the UK and across the Commonwealth.
Visit them this summer to learn more about the enormous hardships and sacrifices endured by Bomber Command this summer with a trip to Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery.
Visit us and discover more Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries & memorials
The battlefields of two World Wars are largely gone, but our graves, cemeteries and memorials remain as deeply moving reminders of the events that took place there.
Visit one of these incredible sites or take a trip to one of our Visitor Centres and discover more about the role of the Commission.