Exploring the connection between Commonwealth War Graves & UNESCO

Commonwealth War Graves & UNESCO

51 sites in France & Belgium

In September 2023, UNESCO awarded 139 war cemeteries and memorials were inscribed with UNESCO World Heritage status.

Some of the sites are cared for by other organisations, such as the French Ministère des Pensions, Germany’s Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, and the American Battle Monuments Commission. 

51 of the sites listed for UNESCO World Heritage status are Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites or cared for by us on behalf of other nations, such as the Vimy Canadian Memorial.

What does UNESCO World Heritage Status mean?

UNESCO World Heritage status is given to cultural or natural places around the world considered to be of “outstanding universal value”. 

To qualify for World Heritage Status, a place or building/s is thought to:

• Have special importance for everyone
• Represent unique, the most significant, or the best examples of the world’s cultural and/or natural heritage

World Heritage status is a significant award. By inscribing a place or building on the World Heritage list, it confirms its status as a culturally and historically significant site with universal appeal.

In this specific context, the 139 locations chosen by UNESCO in September are part of a wider initiative to promote and preserve the Funeral & Memorial Sites of the First World War (Western Front).

Which Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries and memorials were granted UNESCO World Heritage status?

The full list of Funeral Sites of the First World War granted UNESCO World Heritage status is below:

The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme commemorates by name some 72,000 UK and South African officers and enlisted who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 with no known grave.

Over 90% of those commemorated on Thiepval fell between July and November 1916.

The Battle of the Somme has entered folklore as one of the toughest, bloodiest campaigns fought by the British and Commonwealth troops during the First World War.

On 1 July 1916, thirteen Commonwealth divisions launched attacks throughout the Somme region. German defences were barely touched by the initial artillery bombardment. The Commonwealth units faced unexpectedly ferocious resistance.

The first day of the Battle of the Somme remains the British Army’s bloodiest single day. Over 57,000 men became casualties with around 16,000 killed. By the campaign’s end in November 1916, some 420,000 casualties were taken including just over 95,000 killed or missing.

The Thiepval Memorial was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. It was opened by the Prince of Wales and the President of France on 1 August 1932. Since then, Thiepval has grown to become one of the most iconic memorials maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Vimy Memorial

The Vimy Memorial is Canada’s national memorial to the dead of the First World War. Commonwealth War Graves maintains the memorial on behalf of the Canadian government.

With its towering icy white architecture, stretching into the French sky, Vimy is one of the most striking memorials in our care. 

Carved weeping figures dot the memorial, showing the collective grief of Canada for its fallen sons. The names of over 11,000 missing Canadian Great War soldiers are carved onto the memorial’s name panels. 

But Vimy’s commemorates so much more. For Canada, the memorial is also a symbol of all 60,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the Great War.

The site, with the memorial sitting atop a 60m high ridge, holds special significance for Canadian national identity too. It was here that in April 1917, all four Canadian divisions fought as one unit for the first time, storming the ridge and winning a major tactical victory, proof Canada could fight and win on its own.

Tyne Cot Cemetery

Tyne Cot Cemetery lies within the heart of the Ypres Salient: one of the most significant areas of the First World War.

Some of the most infamous episodes of the war were fought in and around Ypres. That’s why some of our largest war cemeteries and memorials are located there.

Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest of all CWGC war cemeteries. Close to 12,000 Commonwealth soldiers are buried here. Such was the brutal nature of the fighting at the Ypres Salient, around 8,300 are unidentified casualties.

Tyne Cot gets its name from the rows of concrete German bunkhouses and pillboxes in the cemetery. The remains of these structures are still present in the cemetery today. The Cross of Sacrifice stands at the largest remaining bunkhouse, an architectural idea that came from the brain of King George V.

Within the grounds of the cemetery lies the Tyne Cot Memorial. Over 35,000 missing soldiers with no known war grave are commemorated on the memorial. 

Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial

The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial is one of four memorials to the missing located in the Ypres Salient.

The Salient was formed in 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. A small section of the British Expeditionary Force captured the city, pushing out its German occupiers before the winter set in. 

The Germans retreated to Passchendaele Ridge outside Ypres and stalemate set in, despite several major battles taking place throughout the war to break the deadlock. 

Hundreds of thousands of men lost their lives during the Ypres Salient battles. It became clear following the war that several locations would be needed to properly commemorate the fallen.

The site of the Menin Gate was chosen as the Menin Road was one of the key routes men marched down to reach the Ypres Salient’s frontlines.

Over 54,500 officers and enlisted men are commemorated by the Menin Gate. Nations represented on its name panels include Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and the UK. New Zealand casualties are commemorated on memorials elsewhere around Flanders.

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery

Lijssenthoek was situated close to the main Allied lines of communications around Ypres during the First World War.

The village’s location, close to the frontline but out of range of the heaviest artillery, made it the ideal place to set up casualty-clearing stations.

Lijssenthoek was first used by the French 15th Hospital D’Evacuation but by June 1915 it was being used for Commonwealth burials. The German Spring Offensive forced a retreat for the medical units, but the site remained in use for field hospitals until the end of the war.

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery is the second-largest CWGC in terms of burials. Just shy of 10,000 Commonwealth war graves are located here. Just over 880 burials from other nationalities, mostly French and German, are buried here too.

Interestingly, a large number of Chinese labour corps burials can be found in Lijssenthoek, easily identifiable by the hanzi Chinese lettering carved into their headstones. 

Discover more Commonwealth War Graves Sites

With over 23,000 war cemeteries and memorials around the world, you are bound to find a CWGC site near you.

Use our Find Cemeteries & Memorials tool to quickly discover our sites around the world.

Search by location, war and number of casualties to research and visit commemorative sites. We hope to see you at one of our sites soon.