Grave Locations - Iraq
TOTAL AUSTRALIAN CASUALTIES: 65 + 25 Australians in Other Allied Units
RED - this indicates those cemeteries that have been completed.
BLUE - this indicates those cemeteries that have been offered for completion
BLACK - this indicates those cemeteries that have yet to be completed.
Status Current as of the 22nd April 2007
Cemetery/Memorial
|
No.
|
Volunteer
|
Status
|
BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY |
41 |
- |
Photos Required |
BASRA MEMORIAL |
12 |
- |
Photos Required |
BASRA WAR CEMETERY |
6 |
- |
Photos Required |
HABBANIYA WAR CEMETERY |
4 |
- |
Photos Required |
MOSUL WAR CEMETERY |
2 |
- |
Photos Required |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Australians Serving in Other Allied Units |
|||
AMARA WAR CEMETERY |
4 |
- |
Photos Required |
BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY |
3 |
- |
Photos Required |
BASRA MEMORIAL |
15 |
- |
Photos Required |
BASRA WAR CEMETERY |
2 |
- |
Photos Required |
MOSUL WAR CEMETERY |
1 |
- |
Photos Required |
AMARA WAR CEMETERY, Iraq OTHER UNITS
Location:
Amara is a town on the left bank of the Tigris some 520 kilometres from the sea. The War Cemetery is a little east of the town between the left bank of the river and the Chahaila Canal.
Visiting Information:
THE COMMISSION STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008 0232/0233Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00
Historical Information:
Amara was occupied by the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force on 3 June 1915 and it immediately became a hospital centre. The accommodation for medical units on both banks of the Tigris was greatly increased during 1916 and in April 1917, seven general hospitals and some smaller units were stationed there. Amara War Cemetery contains 4,621 burials of the First World War, more than 3,000 of which were brought into the cemetery after the Armistice. 925 of the graves are unidentified. In 1933, all of the headstones were removed from this cemetery when it was discovered that salts in the soil were causing them to deteriorate. Instead a screen wall was erected with the names of those buried in the cemetery engraved upon it. There are also seven non-war graves in the cemetery.
BAGHDAD (NORTH GATE) WAR CEMETERY, Iraq
Location:
Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery is 800 metres beyond the North Gate of the City of Baghdad on the south-eastern side of the road to Baguba.
Visiting Information:
THE COMMISSION STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit, Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building, London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008 0232/0233 Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00
Historical Information:
In 1914, Baghdad was the headquarters of the Turkish Army in Mesopotamia. It was the ultimate objective of the Indian Expeditionary Force 'D' and the goal of the force besieged and captured at Kut in 1916. The city finally fell in March 1917, but the position was not fully consolidated until the end of April. Nevertheless, it had by that time become the Expeditionary Force's advanced base, with two stationary hospitals and three casualty clearing stations. The North Gate Cemetery was begun In April 1917 and has been greatly enlarged since the end of the First World War by graves brought in from other burial grounds in Baghdad and northern Iraq, and from battlefields and cemeteries in Anatolia where Commonwealth prisoners of war were buried by the Turks. At present, 4,142 Commonwealth casualties of the First World War are commemorated by name in the cemetery, many of them on special memorials. Unidentified burials from this period number 2,729. The cemetery also contains the grave of Lieutenant General Sir Stanley Maude, Commander-in-Chief of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, who died at Baghdad in November 1917 and the memorial to the 13th Division which he commanded. A memorial to the 6th Battalion Loyal (North Lancashire) Regiment was brought into the cemetery from the banks of the Diyala River in 1947. During the Second World War, Baghdad was again an objective of Commonwealth forces. The 20th Indian Infantry Brigade reached the city from Shaiba by the Euphrates route on 12 June 1941 and the 21st Indian Infantry Brigade, part of the 13th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers, together with the 157th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, arrived on 19 June via the Tigris. An advanced base was established later near the city and remained in use until 1946. Most of the 296 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried in the cemetery died of illness or by accident when serving with PAIFORCE. Again, a number of the graves were brought in from other burial grounds. Within the cemetery is the Baghdad (North Gate) (Khanaqin) Memorial, commemorating 104 Commonwealth and 439 Polish servicemen of the Second World War buried in Khanaqin War Cemetery which, owing to difficulty of access, could not be properly maintained. A memorial has also been erected at Khanaqin. The North Gate Cemetery also contains 127 war graves of other nationalities from both wars, 100 of them Turkish, and 41 non-war graves.
BASRA MEMORIAL, Iraq
Location:
The Basra Memorial was originally sited within Basra War Cemetery but in 1997 the Memorial was moved by presidential decree. The move, carried out by the authorities in Iraq, involved a considerable amount of manpower, transport costs and sheer engineering on their part, and the Memorial has been re-erected in its entirety. The Basra Memorial is now located 32 kilometres along the road to Nasiriyah, in the middle of what was a major battleground during the Gulf War.
Visiting Information:
THE COMMISSION STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008 0232/0233
Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00
Historical Information:
The Basra Memorial bears the names of 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.
BASRA WAR CEMETERY, Iraq
Location:
Basra is a town on the west bank of the Shatt-al-Arab, 90 kilometres from its mouth in the Persian Gulf. The cemetery is about 8 kilometres north-west of Basra.
Visiting Information:
THE COMMISSION STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008 0232/0233
Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00
Historical Information:
During the First World War, Basra was occupied by the 6th (Poona) Division in November 1914, from which date the town became the base of the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force. A number of cemeteries were used by the MEF in and around Basra; Makina Masul Old Cemetery was used from December 1914 to October 1916 and the Makina Masul New Extension was begun alongside the old cemetery in August 1917. These two sites, enlarged later when more than 1,000 graves were brought in from other burial grounds, now form Basra War Cemetery. The cemetery now contains 2,551 burials of the First World War, 74 of them unidentified. The headstones marking these graves were removed in 1935 when it was discovered that salts in the soil were causing them to deteriorate. The names of those buried in the graves affected are now recorded on a screen wall. The cemetery also contains the Basra (Tanooma Chinese) Memorial, commemorating 227 unidentified casualties of the Chinese Labour Corps who were attached to the Inland Water Transport during the First World War. A panel in their memory was added to the screen wall when it became evident that their graves in Tanooma Chinese Cemetery could no longer be maintained. During the Second World War, Basra was the scene of fighting from 2 - 7 May 1941 when Iraqi forces were driven from the town, which then became a base for Commonwealth forces. Basra War Cemetery was used
once again and after the war, further graves were brought in from other burials grounds in Iraq and Iran. There are now 365 Second World War burials in the cemetery. In addition, there are 37 war graves of other nationalities, many of them Polish, and 16 non-war burials. Directly opposite Basra War Cemetery is the Basra Indian Forces Cemetery containing burials of both wars, and the Basra Cremation Memorial commemorating Indian casualties of the Second World War whose remains were cremated in accordance with their faith.
HABBANIYA WAR CEMETERY, Iraq
Location:
Habbaniya is about 65 kilometres west of Baghdad. The cemetery, enclosed by a high brick wall, is within the former R.A.F. cantonment, which is now an enclosed military area.
Visiting Information:
THE COMMISSION STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008 0232/0233
Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00
MOSUL WAR CEMETERY, Iraq
Location:
Mosul is the most northerly town in Iraq. Mosul War Cemetery is 1.5 kilometres west of the town on the main road to Aleppo. The war cemetery adjoins the civil cemetery, which can only be entered through the war cemetery.
Visiting Information:
THE COMMISSION STRONGLY ADVISES THAT THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE SHOULD BE CONTACTED BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO VISIT IRAQ. Their details are as follows: Travel Advice Unit Consular Division Foreign and Commonwealth Office Old Admiralty Building London SW1A 2AF Tel: 0207 008 0232/0233
Fax: 0207 008 0164 Website: http://www.fco.gov.uk/ Opening Times: Monday to Friday 09.30 - 16.00
Historical Information:
During the First World War, Mosul was the headquarters of the Turkish Sixth Army. The town was entered by Commonwealth forces on 3 November 1918 under the terms of the Armistice with Turkey and a garrison was quartered there. It also became a minor hospital centre. Mosul War Cemetery contains 191 burials from the First World War, only six of them identified, all of them Indian forces. In addition, there is a special memorial to one casualty of the United Kingdom forces buried at the time in a vault in Mosul French Dominican Church. During the
Second World War, Mosul was again occupied by Commonwealth forces from June 1941 to the end of the war. Additional ground was acquired for the cemetery by the military authorities for the burial of men who died of illness or through accident while serving with PAIFORCE. After the war, graves were brought into this permanent cemetery from Mosul Civil Cemetery, Kirkuk British Military Cemetery and Kirkuk Muhammadan Cemetery, where maintenance would not have been possible. The cemetery now contains 145 Second World War burials. In addition, there are two non-war graves and 13 non-war Consular burials.
Please contact the Archive Director for details and photographic requirements
australianwargraves@bigpond.com