Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorials To The Missing
Around 300,000 soldiers are remembered on memorials to the missing in France & Belgium. These are men who were killed in action but have no known grave. The largest of these is the Thiepval Memorial to the missing which commemorates over 70,000 officers and men who were lost on the Somme. There are Memorials in most places around the world where there was fighting during the two world wars.
If you are looking for a photograph of a name on one of the following memorials, let us know and we will check to see if we have a photo of the relevant panel.
ALAMEIN MEMORIAL
The Alamein Memorial forms the entrance to the El Alamein War Cemetery. The Land Forces panels commemorate more than 8,500 soldiers of the Commonwealth who died in the campaigns in Egypt and Libya, and in the operations of the Eighth Army in Tunisia up to 19 February 1943, who have no known grave. It also commemorates those who served and died in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Persia. The Air Forces panels commemorate more than 3,000 airmen of the Commonwealth who died in the campaigns in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Greece, Crete and the Aegean, Ethiopia, Eritrea and the Somalilands, the Sudan, East Africa, Aden and Madagascar, who have no known grave.
ARRAS MEMORIAL
At the entrance to the Faubourg d’Amiens Cemetery in France stands the Arras Memorial. The memorial commemorates nearly 35,000 soldiers of the British, South African and New Zealand forces with no known grave. Most of those commemorated were killed in the Battle of Arras, fought between 9 April and 16 May 1917.
ATHENS MEMORIAL
The Athens Memorial commemorates 2,870 servicemen who lost their lives during the Greek, Greek Islands & Yugoslavian campaigns who have no known grave. The Memorial is situated in the Phaleron War Cemetery. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
BASRA MEMORIAL
The Basra Memorial commemorates more than 40,500 members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the operations in Mesopotamia from the Autumn of 1914 to the end of August 1921 and whose graves are not known. The memorial was designed by Edward Warren and unveiled by Sir Gilbert Clayton on the 27th March 1929.
BAYEUX MEMORIAL
The Bayeux Memorial commemorates more than 1,800 men of the Commonwealth land forces who died in the early stages of the Allied offensive in Western Europe and have no known grave. They died during the landings in Normandy, during the intense fighting in Normandy itself, and during the advance to the River Seine in August
BROOKWOOD MEMORIAL
The Brookwood Memorial stands in Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey. The Memorial commemorates nearly 3,500 men and women of the land forces of the Commonwealth who died during the Second World War and have no known grave. Those who are commemorated on the Memorial died in the Norway campaign or on raids into occupied Europe. Others died at sea, in aerial combat or while working behind enemy lines with Allied underground movements.
CAMBRAI MEMORIAL
The Cambrai Memorial commemorates more than 7,000 servicemen of the United Kingdom and South Africa who died in the Battle of Cambrai in November and December 1917 and whose graves are not known. The Cambrai Memorial was designed by H Chalton Bradshaw with sculpture by C S Jagger. The Memorial stands on a terrace in Louverval Military Cemetery, which is situated on the north side of the N30, south of Louverval village.
CASSINO MEMORIAL
The Cassino Memorial is situated within Cassino War Cemetery, which lies in the Commune of Cassino, Province of Frosinone. The Memorial commemorates over 4,000 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the Italian campaign during World War Two and whose graves are not known.
CHATBY MEMORIAL
The Chatby Memorial stands at the eastern end of the Alexandria (Chatby) War Memorial Cemetery and commemorates almost 1,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died during the First World War and have no other grave but the sea. Many of them were lost when hospital ships or transports were sunk in the Mediterranean, sailing to or from Alexandria. Others died of wounds or sickness while aboard such vessels and were buried at sea.
CHATHAM NAVAL MEMORIAL
Overlooking the town of Chatham in Kent is the Chatham Naval Memorial. It commemorates more than 8,500 Royal Navy personnel of the First World War and over 10,000 of the Second World War who were lost or buried at sea.
DAR-ES-SALAAM BRITISH & INDIAN MEMORIAL
The Dar Es Salaam British & Indian Memorial which stands within Dar es Salaam War Cemetery, commemorates by name more than 1,500 officers and men who died in East Africa during and after January 1917 (the advance to the Rufiji river) who have no known grave.
DELHI MEMORIAL (INDIA GATE)
Of the 13,300 Commonwealth servicemen commemorated by name on the memorial, just over 1,000 lie in cemeteries to the west of the River Indus, where maintenance was not possible. The remainder died in fighting on or beyond the North West Frontier and during the Third Afghan War, and have no known grave. The Delhi Memorial also acts as a national memorial to all the 70,000 soldiers of undivided India who died during the years 1914-1921, the majority of whom are commemorated by name outside the confines of India.
DOIRAN MEMORIAL
The Doiran Memorial commemorates nearly 2,200 commonwealth servicemen who died whilst holding the line in Macedonia during the Great War and have no known grave. The Memorial can be found in the North of Greece close to the border with what was Yugoslavia.
DUNKIRK MEMORIAL
The Dunkirk Memorial stands within the Dunkirk Town Cemetery. It commemorates more than 4,500 casualties of the British Expeditionary Force who died in the campaign of 1939-40 and who have no known grave. The memorial was designed by Philip Hepworth. The engraved glass panel depicting the evacuation was by John Hutton.
EAST AFRICA MEMORIAL
The East Africa Memorial commemorates more than two thousand men & women who gave their lives in Italian Somaliland, Southern Ethiopia, Kenya & Madagascar during World War Two and who have no known grave. The Memorial can be found within the Nairobi War Cemetery, Kenya. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
FAYID MEMORIAL
The Fayid Memorial commemorates 265 men whose graves were so situated that permanent maintenance became impossible. The graves could not be moved to a war cemetery because of national or religeous reasons.
FREETOWN (KING TOM) MEMORIAL
The King Tom Cemetery Memorial commemorates 35 men from both world wars who are buried elsewhere in Sierra Leonne and who’s graves were deemed to be unmaintainable.
GROESBEEK MEMORIAL
The Groesbeek Memorial commemorates more than 1,000 members of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaign in north-west Europe between the end of August 1944 and the end of the war in Europe, who have no known grave.
HELIOPOLIS-ADEN MEMORIAL
The Heliopolis (Aden) Memorial commemorates more than 600 men of the Commonwealth forces who died in the defence of Aden during the First World War and who have no known grave. The panels bearing the names, erected in the pavilions to the rear of Heliopolis War Cemetery, replace the original memorial in Aden which was destroyed in 1967. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
HELLES MEMORIAL
The Helles Memorial commemorates more than 21,000 members of the commonwealth forces, whe fought in the eight month campaign on the Gallipoli peninsular during 1915.
HOLLYBROOK MEMORIAL
The Hollybrook Memorial commemorates by name almost 1,900 servicemen and women of the Commonwealth land and air forces whose graves are not known, many of whom were lost in transports or other vessels torpedoed or mined in home waters . The memorial also bears the names of those who were lost or buried at sea, or who died at home but whose bodies could not be recovered for burial.
HONG KONG MEMORIAL
The Hong Kong Memorial is inscribed with the names of the 941 casualties of the First World War and 1,493 from the Second World War, whose graves are not known.
ISIOLO MEMORIAL
The Isiolo Memorial commemorates 19 African soldiers who died during the 1939-1945 War, whose unmarked graves in Isiolo Cemetery (an African burial ground) are intermingled with civilian graves. 3 of them are not identified.
KIRKEE 1939-1945 MEMORIAL
The Kirkee Memorial commemorates almost 200 East and West African servicemen who died in non-operational zones in India in the Second World War, and whose graves either cannot be located or are so situated that maintenance is not possible. On the same memorial are commemorated more than 1,800 servicemen who died in India during the First World War, who are buried in civil and cantonment cemeteries in India and Pakistan where their graves can no longer be properly maintained. This total includes the names of 629 servicemen whose remains were brought from Bombay (Sewri) Cemetery for re-interment here in 1962. The memorial stands within Kirkee War Cemetery.
LABUAN MEMORIAL
The Labuan Memorial was primarily intended to commemorate the officers and men of the Australian Army and Air Force who died while prisoners of war in Borneo and the Philippines from 1942 to 1945 and during the 1945 operations for the recovery of Borneo, and have no known grave. Subsequently it was found that a number of men belonging to the local forces of North Borneo, Sarawak and Brunei who were killed on war service also have no known grave, and they too are honoured here. The memorial commemorates a total of 2294 Commonwealth casualties.
LA FERTE-SOUS-JOUARRE MEMORIAL
The La Ferte-sous-Jouarre Memorial commemorates nearly 4,000 officers and men of the British Expeditionary Force who died during the retreat from Mons and in subsequent actions on the Marne & Aisne during August, September and the early part of October 1914 and who have no known grave. The La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial was unveiled on 4 November 1928. The Memorial stands on the south bank of the river Marne in a small park.
LE TOURET MEMORIAL
The Le Touret Memorial records the names of 13,479 officers and men who fell in the area and have no known grave between October 1914 and 24th September 1915. The Memorial stands in Le Touret Military Cemetery where over 1500 war graves can also be found. The Memorial takes the form of a loggia surrounding an open rectangular court. The court is enclosed by three solid walls and on the eastern side by a colonnade. The names of those commemorated are listed on panels set into the walls of the court and the gallery, arranged by Regiment, Rank and alphabetically by surname within the rank. Inscribed above the arches in this courtyard are the names of the battles and actions fought in the area and over the time which this memorial covers. They are: La Bassee, Festubert 1914, Givenchy 1914/1915, Cuinchy, Neuve Chapelle, Aubers Ridge and Festubert 1915. The memorial was unveiled on May the 22nd, 1930 by Lord Tyrrell, the British Ambassador to France at that time. The architect was J.R.Truelove, a former captain in the London Regiment.
LIVERPOOL NAVAL MEMORIAL
The Liverpool Naval Memorial commemorates 1,400 officers and men of the Merchant Navy who died on active service aboard more than 120 ships, and who have no grave but the sea. The men commemorated on the Memorial agreed to serve with the Royal Navy to make up for a shortfall in manpower during WW2.
LOOS MEMORIAL (DUD CORNER CEMETERY)
The Loos Memorial is a 15 foot high wall which forms the back and sides of Dud Corner Cemetery at Loos-en-Gohelle. The Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who fell in the area from the first day of the Battle of Loos on 25 September 1915, to the Armistice on 11 November 1918 who have no known grave.
MADRAS 1914-1918 MEMORIAL
The Madras 1914-1918 Memorial was built to commemorate more than 1000 servicemen and women who died in India during the First World War, who were buried in civil and cantonment cemeteries in India whose graves were considered to be unmaintainable after India gained its independence in 1947.
Medjez-El-Bab Memorial
The Medjez-El-Bab Memorial commemorates almost 2,000 men who were killed during the Second World War in Algeria and Tunisia between 1942 & 1943. The memorial can be found in the Medjez-El-Bab War Cemetery, which is in Tunisia. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
MENIN GATE MEMORIAL
The Menin Gate was so named because here the road out of Ypres passed through the old wall defences going in the direction of Menin. During the war the two stone lions standing on each side of the Menin Gate were seen by tens of thousands of troops as they went towards the front line. The gate, beyond which these men’s fate lay, became highly symbolic. Afterwards it was decided that on this site a huge monument, designed by the architect Sir Reginald Blomfield, would commemorate those of the Empire who were killed in Belgium but have no known grave. The memorial was unveiled by Field Marshal Lord Plumer on 24 July 1927. It bears the names of 55,000 officers and men and covers the period up to the 15th August 1917. The Last Post is sounded at the Memorial, every evening at 8pm
MIKRA MEMORIAL
The Mikra Memorial commemorates nearly 500 Nurses, Officers & men who were lost at sea when their Hospital and transport ships were sunk in the Mediterranean during the Great War. The ships lost were the Marquette, Ivernia, Arcadian, Britannic & Princess Alberta. The Memorial is located in the Mikra British Cemetery which is south of Thessaloniki, Greece. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
NAIROBI BRITISH & INDIAN MEMORIAL
Upon the panels of the memorial are carved the names of over 1,200 British and Indian officers and men. The central panel is inscribed with the words: “Here are recorded names of officers and men who fell in East Africa before the advance to the Rufiji in January, 1917, but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”
NAIROBI MEMORIAL
The Nairobi Memorial commemorates 477 men of the United Kingdom, South African, and East African Forces who died in the non-operational zones of Kenya whilst in training, or on lines of communication or garrison duty, and whose graves could not be located or are so situated as to be unmaintainable. The memorial is situated in Nairobi War Cemetery, Kenya. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
NIEUWPORT MEMORIAL
The Nieuport Memorial commemorates 552 British officers and men who were killed in Allied operations on the Belgian coast during the First World War and have no known grave. Twenty of those commemorated served with the Royal Naval Division and were killed or mortally wounded during the siege of Antwerp in October 1914. Almost all of the remainder fell in heavy fighting in the region of Nieuport in the summer of 1917.
PLOEGSTEERT MEMORIAL
The Ploegsteert Memorial commemorates more than 11,000 missing officers and soldiers of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in this sector during the First World War. The Memorial lists the missing from the battles of Armentieres, Aubers Ridge (in 1914), Loos, Fromelles (in 1915), Estaires (in 1916), Hazebrouck, Scherpenberg and Outtersteene Ridge (in 1918). The memorial is 70 feet in diameter and 38.5 feet in height. It was unveiled on 7 June 1931 by the Duke of Brabant. The memorial was the work of the architect H Charlton Bradshaw, with sculpture by Gilbert Ledward and comprises a circular temple with pillars guarded by two lions, one of which embodies stern defiance and the other serenity. Local legend has it that the stern lion faces Germany and the smiling lion faces Great Britain.
PORT MORESBY MEMORIAL
The memorial commemorates over 700 officers and men of the Australian Army (including Papuan and New Guinea local forces), the Australian Merchant Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, who gave their lives during the operations in Papua and who have no known grave.
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL MEMORIAL
The Memorial is one of three designed by Sir Robert Lorimer after the Great War. The three memorials are identical and are located at Chatham, Plymouth and Portsmouth. At the end of the Second World War each memorial was extended to accommodate those navy personnel who died during the conflict who have no known grave. The Portsmouth Memorial is located on the seafront at Southsea. The Memorial commemorates 9,667 sailors of the Great War & 14,918 of the Second World War.
POZIERES MEMORIAL
The Memorial encloses Pozieres British Cemetery which is a little south-west of the village on the north side of the main road, D929, from Albert to Pozieres. On the road frontage is an open arcade terminated by small buildings and broken in the middle by the entrance and gates. Along the sides and the back, stone tablets are fixed in the stone rubble walls bearing the names of the dead grouped under their Regiments.The Memorial covers the period of crisis in March and April 1918 when the Allied Fifth Army was driven back by overwhelming numbers across the former Somme battlefields, and the months that followed before the Advance to Victory, which began on 8 August 1918. The Memorial commemorates over 14,000 casualties of the United Kingdom and 300 of the South African Forces who have no known grave and who died on the Somme from 21 March to 7 August 1918.
RANGOON MEMORIAL
The RANGOON MEMORIAL bears the names of almost 27,000 men of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaigns in Burma (now Myanmar) and who have no known grave. The memorial stands in TAUKKYAN WAR CEMETERY, which is the largest of the three war cemeteries in Burma. The cemetery is about 35 kilometres north of Yangon (formerly Rangoon). The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project & Tony Beck.
RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL
The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves.
SAI WAN MEMORIAL
The Sai Wan Memorial forms the entrance to Sai Wan War Cemetery and bears the names of more than 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Battle of Hong Kong, or subsequently in captivity, who have no known grave.
SINGAPORE CIVIL HOSPITAL GRAVE MEMORIAL
108 Commonwealth military casualties buried in a Grave in the grounds of the Singapore Civil Hospital are commemorated on the Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial in Kranji War Cemetery.
SINGAPORE CREMATION MEMORIAL
The Singapore Cremayion Memotrial, which stands immediately behind the Singapore Memorial, commemorates almost 800 casualties, mostly of the Indian forces, whose remains were cremated in accordance with their religious beliefs.
SINGAPORE MEMORIAL
Within Kranji War Cemetery stands the Singapore Memorial, bearing the names of over 24,000 casualties of the Commonwealth land and air forces who have no known grave. The land forces commemorated by the memorial died during the campaigns in Malaya and Indonesia or in subsequent captivity, many of them during the construction of the Burma-Thailand railway, or at sea while being transported into imprisonment elsewhere. The memorial also commemorates airmen who died during operations over the whole of southern and eastern Asia and the surrounding seas and oceans.
SINGAPORE UNMAINTAINABLE GRAVES MEMORIAL
The SINGAPORE (UNMAINTAINABLE GRAVES) MEMORIAL, which stands at the western end of the Singapore Memorial, commemorates more than 250 casualties who died in campaigns in Singapore and Malaya, whose known graves in civil cemeteries could not be assured maintenance and on religious grounds could not be moved to a war cemetery.
SOISSONS MEMORIAL
The Soissons Memorial commemorates almost 4,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom forces who died during the Battles of the Aisne and the Marne in 1918 and who have no known grave.
TAUKKYAN MEMORIAL
The Taukkyan Memorial commemorates 45 servicemen of both wars who died and were buried elsewhere in Burma (now Myanmar) but whose graves could not be maintained. The 19 First World War casualties commemorated on this memorial served in garrisons throughout Burma. The Taukkyan Memorial is situated within Taukkyan War Cemetery, Burma. The panels on the Memorial were photographed by Ralph Maclean of the South African War Graves Project.
TERENDAK MEMORIAL
The Memorial commemorates those who gave their lives in the Malayan Emergency 1948-1960 and in operations during confrontation 1964-1966 and have no known grave.
THIEPVAL MEMORIAL
The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. The memorial, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, was built between 1928 and 1932 and unveiled by the Prince of Wales, in the presence of the President of France, on 1 August 1932
TOWER HILL MEMORIAL
The Tower Hill Memorial commemorates more than 35,800 men and women of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets who died in both World Wars and who have no known grave.
TYNE COT MEMORIAL
The Tyne Cot Memorial forms a boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery (the largest of all cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). The names of some 35000 “missing” men, who died after August 1917, are inscribed on panels arranged by regiment on the rear wall of the cemetery. The Memorial was designed by Sir Herbert baker. The name Tyne Cot is thought to have been coined by Northumbrian troops attacking the area who thought the blockhouses looked like Tyneside workmen’s’ cottages.
VIS-EN-ARTOIS MEMORIAL
The Vis-en-Artois Memorial stands On the main road between Arras and Cambrai and some 7 miles from Arras and in the grounds of the Vis-en-Artois British Cemetery. The Memorial records the names of 9903 officers and men who were lost between the 8th August 1918 and the 11th November 1918 in the final Allied advances in Picardy and Artois but whose bodies were never found and thus have no known grave. The Memorial was designed by J.R.Truelove, a former captain in the London Regiment.
YOKOHAMA CREMATION MEMORIAL
The Memorial takes the form of a beautifully designed shrine which houses an urn containing the ashes of 335 soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Commonwealth, the United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands who died as prisoners of war in Japan. Their names (save for 51 who were not identified) are inscribed on the walls of the shrine.
ZOMBA KAR MEMORIAL
