The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) aims to commemorate the UK and Commonwealth dead of the World Wars, either by maintaining a war grave in a cemetery, or where there is no known grave, by listing the dead on a memorial to the missing. This is a listing of those memorials maintained solely or jointly by the CWGC that commemorate by name the British and Commonwealth dead from World War II whose bodies were not recovered, or whose remains could not be identified.[1] Also included here are memorials to those who were cremated, and the Rolls of Honour that commemorate land and naval losses of undivided India during the Second World War. This listing is of the CWGC memorials with over 4000 names commemorated. The total number of names inscribed on the memorials or rolls of honour listed here, according to the CWGC figures given in the table below, is 188,971.
List of memorials
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) World War II memorials
| Article and reference | Picture | Country | Location | Co-ordinates | Number listed | Description of those listed | Dates covered | Major battles | Date unveiled | Memorial designer | Memorial unveiled by |
|---|
| Rangoon Memorial
CWGC |
 | Myanmar | Taukkyan | 17°02′08″N 96°07′54″E / 17.0356°N 96.1317°E / 17.0356; 96.1317 (Rangoon Memorial) | 26,851 | Commonwealth nations | January 1942 to July 1945 | Burma Campaign | 9 February 1958 | Henry J. Brown | Francis Festing |
| Delhi/Karachi 1939-1945 War Memorial
CWGC |
picture | India and Pakistan | Delhi and Karachi | 28°36′58″N 77°08′43″E / 28.6162°N 77.1452°E / 28.6162; 77.1452 (Delhi 1939-1945 War Memorial) 24°53′42″N 67°05′27″E / 24.8949°N 67.0909°E / 24.8949; 67.0909 (Karachi 1939-1945 War Memorial) | 25,866 | Servicemen of undivided India | entire war | non-operational zones | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Singapore Memorial
CWGC |
 | Singapore | Kranji | 1°25′07″N 103°45′29″E / 1.4185°N 103.7580°E / 1.4185; 103.7580 (Singapore Memorial) | 24,303 | Commonwealth nations | mostly December 1941 and January 1942 | Malayan and Indonesian campaigns | 2 March 1957 | Colin St Clair Oakes | Robert Black |
| Tower Hill Memorial (extension)
CWGC |
 | United Kingdom | London | 51°30′35″N 0°04′40″W / 51.5097°N 0.0778°W / 51.5097; -0.0778 (Tower Hill Memorial) | 23,831 | Mercantile Marine | entire war | naval transport and convoys | 5 November 1955 | Edward Maufe (extension) | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Runnymede Memorial
CWGC |
 | United Kingdom | Runnymede | 51°26′16″N 0°33′54″W / 51.4378°N 0.5650°W / 51.4378; -0.5650 (Runnymede Memorial) | 20,291 | Royal Air Force | entire war | aerial missions | 17 October 1953 | Edward Maufe | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Plymouth Naval Memorial (extension)
CWGC |
 | United Kingdom | Plymouth | 50°21′52″N 4°08′32″W / 50.3644°N 4.1422°W / 50.3644; -4.1422 (Plymouth Naval Memorial) | 15,933 | Royal Navy | entire war | naval campaigns | 20 May 1954 | Edward Maufe (extension) | Princess Margaret[2] |
| Portsmouth Naval Memorial (extension)
CWGC |
 | United Kingdom | Portsmouth | 50°46′57″N 1°05′45″W / 50.7824°N 1.0958°W / 50.7824; -1.0958 (Portsmouth Naval Memorial) | 14,918 | Royal Navy | entire war | naval campaigns | 29 April 1953 | Edward Maufe (extension) | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother |
| Alamein Memorial
CWGC |
picture | Egypt | El Alamein | 30°50′14″N 28°56′49″E / 30.837236°N 28.946906°E / 30.837236; 28.946906 (Alamein Memorial) | 11,864 | Commonwealth nations | up to 19 February 1943 | Battles of El Alamein (First; Second) | 24 October 1954 | Hubert Worthington | Bernard Montgomery |
| Chatham Naval Memorial (extension)
CWGC |
 | United Kingdom | Chatham | 51°23′01″N 0°31′56″E / 51.3836°N 0.5322°E / 51.3836; 0.5322 (Chatham Naval Memorial) | 10,098 | Royal Navy | entire war | naval campaigns | 15 October 1952 | Edward Maufe (extension) | Prince Philip |
| Bombay/Chittagong 1939-1945 War Memorial
CWGC |
picture | India and Bangladesh | Mumbai and Chittagong | 18°57′18″N 72°50′24″E / 18.9549°N 72.8400°E / 18.9549; 72.8400 (Bombay 1939-1945 War Memorial) 22°21′27″N 91°49′42″E / 22.3574°N 91.8282°E / 22.3574; 91.8282 (Chittagong 1939-1945 War Memorial) | 6,467 | Sailors and merchant seamen of undivided India | entire war | naval campaigns and transport | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dunkirk Memorial
CWGC |
 | France | Dunkirk | 51°01′47″N 2°23′19″E / 51.029741°N 2.388475°E / 51.029741; 2.388475 (Dunkirk Memorial) | 4,505 | British Expeditionary Force | mostly 1939 and 1940 | Battle of Dunkirk | 29 June 1957 | Philip Hepworth | Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother[3] |
| Cassino Memorial
CWGC |
picture | Italy | Cassino | 41°28′39″N 13°49′38″E / 41.4776°N 13.8271°E / 41.4776; 13.8271 (Cassino Memorial) | 4,044 | Commonwealth nations | 10 July 1943 to 2 May 1945 | Italian Campaign | 30 September 1956 | Louis de Soissons | Harold Alexander |
References
- ↑ Some of those named on memorials to the missing will have been buried as "unknowns", with a gravestone marked "Known Unto God", but the bodies of many of those commemorated on these memorials were never recovered, could not be recovered, or no remains were left to be recovered.
- ↑ A further unveiling was made on 11 November 1956 by Admiral Sir Mark Pizey.
- ↑ "Unveiling of Dunkirk Memorial by HM Queen Mother, 1957". The National Archives. Retrieved 23 July 2016.