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There are six Commonwealth war cemeteries in Sri Lanka, four in Colombo, one in the hill capital Kandy and one in Trincomalee. Other Commonwealth war casualties rest in Jawatte Muslim Cemetery, Kuppiyawatte Muslim Cemetery, handy Civil Cemetery, George E. De Silva Park in Kandy and Nuwara Eliya Holy Trinity Churchyard.
A total of 1,999 Commonwealth war dead are commemorated in the war cemeteries or plots in Sri Lanka. There are two Commonwealth war memorials in Colombo. Liveramentu Cemetery: the first, the Liveramentu Memorial bears the names of 346 Commonwealth servicemen and one serviceman from the Netherlands; the other, the Cremation Memorial commemorates 165 servicemen of the Hindu faith.
Formerly known as Pitakande Military Cemetery, the Kandy war cemetery was acquired originally by the military authorities, and was subsequently taken over by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as a permanent war cemetery. Due to its location and weather, the Kandy War Cemetery is considered one of the most beautifully landscaped and maintained war cemeteries in the world.
War graves from Divatalawa Boer Military Cemetery; (including graves which had previously been moved from Divatalawa Camp Cemetery and Diyakaduwa Cemetery and from Bandarawala in the Punjab); Galkissa General Cemetery; Ihala Vitiyala Burial Ground; Kandy Civil Cemetery; Kollonawa Burial Ground; Kotagala Forest Creek Cemetery; Mahaiyawa Cemetery; Murugampola Cemetery; Rawatawatte General Cemetery, Moratura; Tibotugoda Etakorasa Cemetery and Trincomalee Hindu and Buddhist Cemetery were transferred to this cemetery by the Army Graves Service.
The Special Memorial commemorates a naval man known to have been buried in the cemetery but whose grave could not be precisely located. It bears the superscription “Buried near this spot”. There is 1 Commonwealth burial of the 1914-1918 war and a further 196 Commonwealth burials of the 1939-1945 war commemorated here. In addition, there are 4 Foreign nationals and 2 non world war burials.
According to the inscription at the site, there are 203 burials at the site. 16 Navy, 151 Army, 32 Air Force, 1 Merchant Navy, 1 National Fire Service, 2 unidentified of which 107 are British, 6 Canadian, 23 Indian, 26 Sri Lankan, 35 East African, 1 French and 3 Italians.
Also See
- Attractions of Sri Lanka
- Heritage of Sri Lanka
- Waterfalls of Sri Lanka
- Nature and Wildlife of Sri Lanka
- Other Places of Interest Within Close Proximity
Map of Kandy Commonwealth War Cemetery
The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites
Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.
Travel Directions to Kandy Commonwealth War Cemetery
Kandy can be reached from Colombo on the old Colombo – Kandy road (option 1) which is scenic but heavy in traffic, especially on Fridays and Sundays. However, the new Central Expressway (option 2) has opened up a new route which is longer but less cumbersome.
| Route 1 from Colombo to Kandy | Route 2 from Colombo to Kandy |
| Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala Distance :150 km Travel time: 3.20 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map | Through : Katunayake Expressway – Central Expressway – Kurunegala Distance :150 km Travel Time: 3.20 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
| Route From Nuwara Eliya to Kandy | |
| Through : Walapane – Raja Mawatha Distance :100 km Travel Time : 3.0 hours Driving Directions : see on Google map |
| Route from Kandy Commonwealth War Cemetery |
| Through : Kadawatha – Warakapola – Peradeniya Distance : 116 km Travel time : 3 -4 hours Driving directions : see on google map |
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