Bayeux War Cemetery | |
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission | |
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For Operation Overlord | |
Established | 1944 |
Location | 49°16′25″N 00°42′52″W / 49.27361°N 0.71444°W near |
Total burials | 4,648 |
Unknowns | 1 |
Burials by nation | |
United Kingdom: 3,935 Nazi Germany: 466 | |
Burials by war | |
Statistics source: WWII Battlefields |
The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery of Commonwealth soldiers in France, located in Bayeux, Normandy.[1] The cemetery contains 4,648 burials, mostly from the Invasion of Normandy. Opposite this cemetery stands the Bayeux Memorial which commemorates more than 1,800 casualties of the Commonwealth forces who died in Normandy and have no known grave.[1][2]
The cemetery grounds were assigned to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by France in recognition of the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defence and liberation of France during the war. In addition to the Commonwealth burials, there are also over 500 war graves of other nationalities, the majority German.[2]
The cemetery contains the Cross of Sacrifice or War Cross, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).