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. The cemetery 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 who sacrificed their lives in World War II. It is currently maintained by the CWGC in partnership with Government of India.

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.

Memorial

The Madras 1914–1918 War Memorial 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 1,000 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.

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

See also

• Victory War Memorial

External links

• Cemetery Details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
• Chennaibest.com – Monuments in Chennai – Madras War Cemetery
• Madras War Cemetery at Find a Grave
• Madras 1914–1918 War Memorial, Chennai at Find a Grave