UBB.threads Forums General Interest Period History Forum More forgotten soldiers in far away graves

Riding around the other day and ran into this. This same monument is all over North Afrika -- Tunis, Tripoli, Benghazi, Tobruq, Cairo. All perfectly maintained.

Nairobi War Cemetery
The Memorial commemorates men of the British land forces who lost their lives in the advance from the south into Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia and during the occupation of those territories, and who have no known grave. Along with them are honoured those who died during the operations in Madagascar in 1942 and who have no known grave. Besides those who died in these campaigns, many men who were lost in the sinking of the troopship 'Khedive Ismail' en route to Ceylon on 12 February 1944 are commemorated here; they include a great part of the 301st Field Regiment, East African Artillery. In the Cemetery, a lawn about 23 metres long and 9 metres wide is surrounded by a hedge. Within this enclosure is a pier which bears the inscription: 1939 - 1945 THE COLUMNS IN THIS ENCLOSURE BEAR THE NAMES OF TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED MEN AND WOMEN OF MANY RACES UNITED IN SERVICE TO THE BRITISH CROWN WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN ITALIAN SOMALILAND, SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA, KENYA AND MADAGASCAR, BUT TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED A KNOWN AND HONOURED GRAVE Flanking this pier on either side stand two rows of columns, twelve in number, on which are carved the names. (Since the erection of the memorial and engraving of the dedicatory panels the burial places of many casualties have since been discovered and they are now correctly commemorated by headstone at the graves).

Few pics

Close to the cemetery in the old Karen coffee plantation is a bar frequented by many British officers of the period.

Of course, I had to have a Tusker!

Vic I assume the site is maintained by the commonwealth war graves commission?

Paul

Paul,
I feel sure they are, but I did not see a plaque stating that.
The ones in North Afrika are clearly marked. The Italians moved all of their war dead from the North African campaign back to Italy. No one cleaned up the cemetery site in Tripoli so it is a mess of broken monuments.

The German site in Tobruk I photographed and is on my Google Earth site.

http://www.panoramio.com/user/924521

The greatest miscarrage is the US bomber " Lady Be Good", laying in pieces in Tobruk. Pictures of that plane are also on my Google Earth site.

http://www.panoramio.com/user/924521

Sometimes it is easy to forget the vast scope of WW II, much of Afrika was involved in one way or another because of the old European colonies.

a real nice tour for me on a sunday morning. thanks paul

brings tears to my eyes to see how well these cemeteries have been maintained after all these years.