Madras War Cemetery

Madras War Cemetery

Madras War Cemetery is a war cemetery and a memorial in Nandambakkam, Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India, created to receive Second World War graves from many civil and cantonment cemeteries in the south and east of India where their permanent maintenance could not be assured.

Location

Madras War Cemetery is located on Mount-Poonamallee Road, Nandambakkam, about 5 km from the airport and 1 km from St. Thomas Mount. The cemetery is open to the public.

The cemetery

The cemetery is spread over an area of 2.75 acres[1] and contains 856 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War. It was established in 1952 by the Imperial War Graves Commission, now known as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), to pay tribute to the men and women of the Commonwealth nations who sacrificed their lives in World War II. It is now maintained by the CWGC in partnership with Government of India.[2] The cemetery is given to the CWGC under perpetual lease by the Defence Ministry.[1]

Memorial

The Madras 1914–1918 War Memorial, known as the Madras Memorial of the First World War, is situated at the rear of the cemetery. The memorial is styled on the lines of a "Lawn Cemetery". The memorial does not contain any buried dead-bodies, but has plaques with the names of many British soldiers who died in both the World Wars, with the inscription "Their name liveth for evermore". It bears the names of more than 1,039 servicemen who died during the First World War and lie in many civil and cantonment cemeteries in various parts of India where it is not possible to maintain their graves in perpetuity.[1]

Commonwealth nationals whose remains were buried include 14 Australians and 5 New Zealanders.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sivaraman, R. (6 December 2017). "Soldiers' final resting place falls victim to official apathy". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Are all memorials really throbbing with life?". Chennai, India. 2007-07-17. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
  3. ↑ Sujatha, S. (26 April 2012). "Oz, NZ war heroes remembered in Chennai". Deccan Chronicle. Chennai: Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 19 Jul 2012.

Coordinates: 13°00′51″N 80°11′40″E / 13.0143°N 80.1944°E / 13.0143; 80.1944

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