Western Cemetery is a major cemetery located in the western suburb of

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It is located near the

Culverhouse Cross Culverhouse Cross ( cy, Croes Cwrlwys) is a district straddling the boundary between Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the community of Wenvoe. The district is centred on a major traffic roundabout that links West Cardiff to the M4 mo ...

roundabout on the

A48 road The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wale ...

west of the city and provides burial facilities for people of all faiths.

Location

The cemetery is located close to

and

St Fagans St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum. History The name of the area invokes Saint Fagan, according to William of Malm ...

, in the very west of the district of Ely, on the

Cowbridge Road West Cowbridge Road West () is a major road in western Cardiff, the capital of Wales and forms part of the A48 road. It divides the districts of Ely and Caerau and connects inner Cardiff to Culverhouse Cross and eventually the M4 motorway via the ...

section of the

near the Culverhouse Cross roundabout. The western rim of the cemetery is framed by Michaelston Road which leads to St. Fagans. North of the cemetery is the

Glamorgan Wanderers RFC Glamorgan Wanderers are a Welsh rugby union club based in Ely, west Cardiff in Wales. The club is located just to the north of Western Cemetery. They currently play in the WRU Admiral Championship. Glamorgan Wanderers began as the Old Monkto ...

rugby club.

Cemetery

The cemetery was opened in July 1936. The types of grave available include lawn graves, traditional graves and cremated remains. Traditional style memorials can be erected for Muslim, Greek Orthodox and Jewish burials. Memorial plaques can be installed and there is a garden where cremated remains may be scattered. There is also a Jewish prayer house. During the summer, on weekdays the cemetery is open from 9am till 5.45pm while at weekends and bank holidays it opens at 10am. During the winter, the hour of closing is earlier. A 'Dear Mum' remembrance garden was opened in 2021 in the centre of the cemetery. It creates in three-dimensions the story of a mouse called Dora, to help children deal with feelings of bereavement.

War Graves

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 ...

marks, records and maintains the graves of military service personnel from the Commonwealth who died in the two World Wars. At Western Cemetery, the Commission cares for the graves or memorials of 22 casualties from the

First World War 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 ...

, and those for the 121 servicemen who died as a result of 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 ...

. There are also three special memorials in the cemetery to commemorate fourteen of these casualties.

References

External links

* *{{Find a Grave cemetery, 2177199 Cemeteries in Cardiff Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in Wales 1936 establishments in Wales Cemeteries in Wales