The Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery (french: Cimetière militaire canadien de Bény-sur-Mer) is a

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

containing predominantly

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

soldiers killed during the early stages of the

Battle of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

in 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 opposin ...

. It is located in and named after

Bény-sur-Mer Bény-sur-Mer (, literally ''Bény on Sea'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region, in northwestern France. It lies 5 km south of Bernières-sur-Mer and 13 km north of Caen. World War II During World War II, ...

in the

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

department, near

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. As is typical of war cemeteries in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, the grounds are beautifully landscaped and immaculately kept. Contained within the cemetery is a

Cross of Sacrifice The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is present in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or ...

, a piece of architecture typical of memorials designed 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 mil ...

. Canadian soldiers killed later in the

are buried south east of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery The Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery is a war cemetery containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. It is located close to the village of Cintheaux and name ...

located in

Cintheaux Cintheaux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. Geography The commune is lo ...

History

Bény-sur-Mer was created as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers who had been temporarily interred in smaller plots close to where they fell. As is usual for war cemeteries or monuments, France granted Canada a perpetual concession to the land occupied by the cemetery. The graves contain soldiers from the 3rd Canadian Division and 15 airmen killed during the

. The cemetery also includes three

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

graves and one French grave, for a total of 2048 markers. The French grave belongs to a

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

soldier named R. Guenard who fought and died alongside the Canadians and who had no known relatives. His marker is the grey cross visible in the lower left of the panoramic view below and is inscribed "Mort pour la France- 19-7-1944". Because of confusion during the movement of remains from temporary cemeteries, the remains of one Canadian soldier were misplaced; his tombstone is set apart from the others, and bears an inscription stating that it is known that his remains are in the Bény-sur-Mer cemetery. Bény-sur-Mer contains the remains of nine sets of brothers. A large number of dead in the cemetery were killed in early July 1944 in the

Battle for Caen The Battle for Caen (June to August 1944) is the name given to fighting between the British Second Army and the German in the Second World War for control of the city of Caen and its vicinity during the larger Battle of Normandy. The battles ...

. The cemetery also contains soldiers who fell during the initial

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

assault of

Juno Beach Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...

. Some of the Canadian

Prisoners of War A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

illegally executed at the

Ardenne Abbey Ardenne Abbey (french: Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Ardenne), the Abbey of Our Lady of Ardenne, is a former Premonstratensian abbey founded in the 11th century and located near Saint-Germain-la-Blanche-Herbe in Calvados, near Caen, France. It is now occu ...

are interred here. It also contains the grave of the Reverend (Honorary Captain) Walter Leslie Brown, chaplain to the 27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusiliers) and the only chaplain killed in cold blood during the Second World War. Rev Brown was murdered on the night of June 6/7 by members of III/25th SS Panzer Grenedier Regt near Galmanche, but his body was not found until July 1944. Canadians killed later in the campaign were interred in the

Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery The Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery is a war cemetery containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. It is located close to the village of Cintheaux and name ...

. The site was featured in Leg 7 of '' The Amazing Race Canada''s second season, where contestants arrived at the cemetery and paid their respects before retrieving their clue along with a LEST WE FORGET Card.

Location

The cemetery is about one kilometre east of the village of

Reviers Reviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region, in northwestern France. It lies 4 km south of C ...

, in the

department, on the Creully-Tailleville-Ouistreham road (D.35). It is located 15 kilometres northwest of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

, an three and a half kilometres south of

Courseulles-sur-Mer Courseulles-sur-Mer (, ), commonly known as ''Courseulles'', is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Until 1957, the town's name was simply ''Courseulles''. It lies 3 km west of Bernières-sur-Mer and 18 ...

. The village of

is some two kilometres southeast of the cemetery. The cemetery can be accessed any time.

Additional Images

Cimetière canadien Bény-sur-Mer 2018-oct - 1.jpg, Graves aligned. Cimetière canadien Bény-sur-Mer 2018-oct - 4.jpg, Graves aligned. Cimetière canadien Bény-sur-Mer 2018-oct - 2.jpg, Graves aligned. Cimetière canadien Bény-sur-Mer 2018-oct - 5.jpg, Detail on a grave. Rguenard.jpg, Grave of Mr. R. Guenard, 2006

References

Veterans Affairs Canada

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery Canadian military memorials and cemeteries Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in France Military history of Canada during World War II Operation Neptune Operation Overlord cemeteries

History

Location

Additional Images

See also

References

External links