The Commonwealth Gaza War Cemetery, often referred to as the British War Cemetery, 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 ...

administered 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 ...

on the

Salah al-Din Road Salah al-Din Road (also known as Salaheddin Road and the Salah ad-Deen Highway) is the main highway of the Gaza Strip. State of Palestine, and extends over 45 kilometers, spanning the entire length of the territory from the Rafah Crossing in the s ...

Gaza City Gaza (;''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' (1998), , p. 761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory in Palestine, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza...". ar, غَزَّة ', ), also referred to as Gaza City, i ...

Tuffah Tuffah ( ar, حي التفاح, translation: "the Apple") is a district of Gaza City, located northeast of the Old City and is divided into eastern and western halves. Prior to its expansion and the demolition of the Old City's walls, Tuffah was ...

district.Gaza War Cemetery
at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission The cemetery is in size. The majority of burials at the cemetery are of

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

soldiers who lost their lives in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, principally in the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

and Third Battles of Gaza. Some 3,217 British and Commonwealth servicemen are buried in the cemetery; nearly 800 of the graves lack identification, and are inscribed "Soldier of the Great War, known unto God". 234 graves of non-Commonwealth soldiers are also present in the cemetery. A further 210 Commonwealth soldiers were interred in the cemetery following their death in

World War II 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 ...

; the post-war period saw 30 more burials. Another Commonwealth cemetery in Gaza is located in Deir al-Balah.

History

The cemetery had been completed by 1920, and has been tended by three men from the same family ever since. For 45 years the cemetery was tended by Ibrahim Jeradeh, who was employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Jeradeh's father was the cemetery's initial head gardener, and he himself was succeeded by his son. Jeradeh was awarded an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in "grateful recognition of outstanding contribution to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission". The MBE's accompanying certificate was signed by the Duke of Kent. Amongst the graves is that of

Stanley Boughey Second Lieutenant Stanley Henry Parry Boughey VC (9 April 1896 – 4 December 1917) was a British Army officer and a British recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ...

(1896–1917), who received 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 previously ...

for action against the Ottoman Army at El Burff, Palestine.Boughey, Stanley Henry Parry
Commonwealth War Graves Commission The cemetery has been struck by Israeli shells on two occasions in the 2010s. An Israeli airstrike in 2006 led to £90,000 in compensation being paid to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission; in addition some 350 headstones needed repair following damage from Israeli shells in Operation Cast Lead. The British journalist and writer Mark Urban visited the cemetery in 2009 for

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's '' Newsnight'', and wrote an article for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' detailing his experiences there.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1920 establishments in Mandatory Palestine History of Gaza City Buildings and structures in the Gaza Strip Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Palestine Tourist attractions in the State of Palestine World War I cemeteries World War II sites in Mandatory Palestine Burial monuments and structures in the State of Palestine