The Basra Memorial is a

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 mil ...

war memorial near

Zubayr Az Zubayr ( ar, الزبير) is a city in and the capital of Al-Zubair District, part of the Basra Governorate of Iraq. The city is just south of Basra. The name can also refer to the old Emirate of Zubair. The name is also sometimes written Al ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. The memorial commemorates 40,682 Commonwealth forces (99% Indians) members who died during the

Mesopotamian Campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Powe ...

, from the Autumn of 1914 to the end of August 1921, and whose graves are not known. The memorial was designed by

Edward Prioleau Warren Edward Prioleau Warren (30 October 1856 – 23 November 1937) was a British architect and archaeologist. Life He was born at Cotham, Bristol, the fifth son of Algernon William Warren, JP. Sir Thomas Herbert Warren was his elder brother. He was e ...

. It was unveiled by

Gilbert Clayton Brigadier-General Sir Gilbert Falkingham Clayton (6 April 1875 – 11 September 1929) was a British Army intelligence officer and colonial administrator, who worked in several countries in the Middle East in the early 20th century. In Egypt, d ...

on 27 March 1929. Originally located eight kilometres north of Basra, near the

Shatt al-Arab The Shatt al-Arab ( ar, شط العرب, lit=River of the Arabs; fa, اروندرود, Arvand Rud, lit=Swift River) is a river of some in length that is formed at the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the town of al-Qurnah in ...

River, it was moved southwest in 1997 to a battleground from the much more recent

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. The ''Telegraph'' reported on 10 November 2013 that the memorial had suffered vandalism, with some of its items missing which include the Cross of Remembrance and the bronze plaques from the Wall of Remembrance, carrying the names of the fallen. The ''BBC'' reported that Colin Kerr, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission publicity director, said that a total of 30,000 Indian soldiers are not named on the Basra memorial, despite fallen British soldiers being named, only Indian officers are accorded with the honour. The deaths of the non-commissioned men are commemorated by

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

but simply as "and 258 other Indian soldiers" or "and 272 other Indian soldiers." Kerr added that the commission knows their identities and has launched a project to find ways to publicise them both in India and in Britain.

See also