A piece of World War II history in Chattogram
The war cemetery located at the heart of the port city is a beautiful, serene place. There are a total of 755 graves out of which 17 have not been identified
Scars of the Second World War are still borne by cities across the world, including our very own Chattogram.
Being an important war front, many soldiers died here and in surrounding areas. After the war, they were buried in the Chattogram Commonwealth War Cemetery. This cemetery was established by the British Army in 1945.
It is located at 19, Badsha Miah Chowdhury Road, Dampara. Locals also call it the 'Christian graveyard'. There are two such war cemeteries in Bangladesh, the other is in Cumilla.
On either side of the cemetery gate there are small two-storied cottages with red bricks and wooden roofs. At the centre of the burial ground is a magnificent cross or sword marked altar and another red brick cottage.
There is also a memorial register which contains the names of 6,500 sailors and merchant seamen who died at sea.
There are a total of 755 graves out of which 17 have not been identified. There are 731 Commonwealth graves and 19 graves of Japanese soldiers and one of a Dutch Navy seaman. There are also four graves of non-war British military personnel.
On the headstone of each grave are engraved the names, age, nationalities and dates of death, along with a few touching lines, possibly by friends or families. Due to the differences in the soldiers' religions, the graves are also arranged differently.
A fittingly silent environment, model photo shoots with DSLR cameras and casual hangouts are prohibited at the cemetery.
General visitors can come here between 9am-12pm and 3pm-5pm during the summer. The timing is slightly different during winter. However, special permission may be obtained for filming documentaries.
The war cemetery located at the heart of the port city is a beautiful, serene place. Most of the visitors come here to pay respect to these soldiers who died in a foreign land while fighting for their country.
Authorities want visitors to not only spend time here, but also know the glorious history behind this place.
