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There are four Commonwealth war cemeteries found in Sri Lanka. Two are located in Colombo, one is in Kandy, the country’s hill capital and one is in Trincomalee. The Department of National Botanic Gardens maintains these four cemeteries with funding from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Additional Commonwealth war burials are found in the Nuwara Eliya Holy Trinity Churchyard (3 gravestones), Jawatte Muslim Cemetery (27 gravestones), Kuppiyawatte Muslim Cemetery (25 gravestones), and Kandy Mahaiyawa Cemetery (3 gravestones) 1.
The two Commonwealth War Cemeteries in Colombo are found inside the Borella Kanatta Public Cemetery with 364 identified casualties and Jawatta Liveramentu Public Cemetery with 610 identified casualties1.
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 Diyatalawa Boer Military Cemetery; (including graves which had previously been moved from Divatalawa Camp Cemetery and Diyakaduwa Cemetery and from Bandarawala); 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 Service1.
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 burials1.
According to the inscription on the site, there are 203 burials. 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.
References
- Cwgc. (n.d.). The Commonwealth War Graves Commission | CWGC. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved June 19, 2024, from https://www.cwgc.org/
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 via the old Colombo-Kandy road (option 1), which is scenic but heavily congested, 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: Walapane – Raja Mawatha Distance: 100 km Travel Time: 3.0 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps. | Through: Warakapola – Kegalle – Kadugannawa Distance: 121 km Travel Time: 4.15 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps. |
| Route From Nuwara Eliya to Kandy | |
| Through : Walapane – Raja Mawatha Distance: 100 km Travel Time: 3.0 hours Driving Directions: see on Google Maps. |
| 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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