The Taukkyan War Cemetery ( my, ထောက်ကြံ့ စစ်သင်္ချိုင်း) is a cemetery for Allied soldiers from the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

who died in battle in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The cemetery is in the village of Taukkyan, about north of

Yangon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

on Pyay Road. It is maintained by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations m ...

. The cemetery contains the graves of 6,374 soldiers who died in the Second World War, the graves of 52 soldiers who died in Burma during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and memorial pillars (The Rangoon Memorial) with the names of over 27,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died in Burma during the Second World War in the Burma Campaign but who have no known grave. There are 867 graves that contain the remains of unidentified soldiers. It is one of the most visited and high rated war sites of all Asia.

History

The cemetery was opened in 1951 and the remains of Commonwealth soldiers who died in Meiktila,

Akyab Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emp ...

(Sittwe),

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fou ...

, and Sahmaw were transferred here and the graves are grouped together by these battles. A large number of the 27,000 names of Commonwealth soldiers are of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the Land warfare, land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Arm ...

and African soldiers who fought and died in Burma. Of the total, 1,819 graves are Indian soldiers.

Notable graves

Seven holders of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

(VC) are interred at this site and the names of several (including five Indian VC holders) are inscribed on the Rangoon Memorial. The interred soldiers are: *

Michael Allmand Michael Allmand VC (22 August 1923 – 24 June 1944) was an English Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth ...

(1923–1944), for action in Burma on 23 June 1944 * Frank Gerald Blaker (1920–1944), for action in Burma on 9 July 1944 * George Albert Cairns (1913–1944), for action in Burma on 13 March 1944 *

Charles Ferguson Hoey Major Charles Ferguson Hoey VC MC (29 March 1914 – 16 February 1944) was a Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Comm ...

(1914–1944), for action in Burma on 16 February 1944 *

George Arthur Knowland Lieutenant George Arthur Knowland VC (16 August 1922 – 31 January 1945) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross during the Second World War, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awa ...

(1922–1945), for action in Burma on 31 January 1945 *

Claud Raymond Claud Raymond VC (2 October 1923 – 22 March 1945) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. As a membe ...

(1923–1945), for action in Burma on 21 March 1945 * William Basil Weston (1924–1945), for action in Burma on 3 March 1945 Other notable people buried there include: *South African first-class cricketer Leigh Alexander (1898–1943) *British

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

Bryan Draper Bryan Vincent Draper (1916 – 28 February 1945) was a British flying ace of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) during the Second World War. He was credited with at least six aerial victories. From Barry in South Wales, Draper joine ...

*Welsh poet Alun Lewis *Englishman Tom Mitford, the only brother of the famous Mitford sisters. Also inscribed, in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly ...

, and Burmese, on the Rangoon Memorial are the words ''they died for all free men''. The Taukkyan Cremation Memorial, also at the site, commemorates more than 1000 soldiers who were cremated according to their faith.Taukkyan Memorial
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References

External links

* {{osmway, 235361400 Yangon Military history of Myanmar Cemeteries in Myanmar Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Myanmar World War II sites in Burma 1951 establishments in Burma

History

Notable graves

See also

References

External links