Yaba Cemetery
- Country Nigeria
- Total identified casualties 401 Find these casualties
- Identified casualties from Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 6.51475, Longitude: 3.37888
Please note
Please bear the following in mind when it is safe to visit this cemetery:
- It is important to check the weather forecast, as the grass and dirt surfaces can become slippery when wet.
- Care should be taken not to stand beneath the trees when they are about to fruit.
Location information
The cemetery is in Yaba, a suburb of Lagos. It is within a large civil cemetery known locally as Atan Cemetery which lies on the Eastern outskirts of Lagos, on University road, beyond Moorehouse Road and the Medical Research Institute. The cemetery contains the largest concentration of 1939-1945 war graves in Nigeria. The graves are arranged in four plots, separated by an avenue.
Visiting information
ARRIVAL
The CWGC section is not signposted.
The section is the largest concentration of CWGC graves in Nigeria and is close to the centre of the cemetery, with an avenue running alongside it.
PARKING
It is possible to park on the avenue along the perimeter of the cemetery.
The ground is flat, and firm compacted earth and sand, there is space for up to 4 vehicles.
The parking area is approximately 5 metres from the main entrance.
ACCESS, LAYOUT AND MAIN ENTRANCE
The cemetery is a rectangular shape and surrounded by a 2.4 m tall metal security fence.
The main entrance gate is 4 metres wide; it is a low-level black metal gate with a 1-metre-wide opening section, separated into two sections that open inwards into the cemetery. There is a raised metal lip and a concrete channel separating the roadway from the paved entrance and gate.
The Cross of Sacrifice is in the centre of the cemetery.
On the right-hand side of the cemetery, at the halfway point opposite the Cross of Sacrifice is a small shelter building.
The shelter building stands on a raised paved area, with a step up from the grass to the paving, approximately 10 centimetres.
There is a stone bench seating area inside the shelter.
The cemetery Register Box is on the right-hand wall inside the shelter.
The internal cemetery paths are grass, the ground is firm and flat.
ALTERNATIVE ACCESS
The only access into the CWGC part of the cemetery is through the main entrance.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The cemetery is open 08h00 to 16h00 Monday to Friday and 09h00 to 13h00 on Saturday and is locked outside these hours.
Visitors should take care when standing under trees in the cemetery when they are in fruit.
History information
Nearly all the naval casualties were caused by an explosion at Lagos on 5th December 1942 when many sailors of the Royal Navy and the Sierra Leone Naval Volunteer Force serving in His Majesty's Trawlers " Kelt "," Canna "," Spaniard "and" Bengali " lost their lives. Many of the airmen buried here died at Ikeja, the first staging post in Nigeria on the South Atlantic convoy route from the United States to the Middle East. The airport, which was developed for this purpose during the war, lies 13 miles inland on the railway from Lagos, and is now the international airport for the Federal capital. One of the two civilians died after his discharge from service and his grave is marked by a headstone designed to harmonise with those on the war graves, while that of the other civilian has a private memorial. The post-war graves are those of servicemen who died between 1948 and 1950.
This cemetery contains 411 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 17 of which are unidentified. There are also 7 burials of other nationalities and 33 non world war burials.