APPENDIX III
CEMETERIES

The MARKET GARDEN Graves

The soldiers of all nations who took part in MARKET GARDEN and were killed in action or died of wounds are now widely spread across Europe, Britain and the USA. However, a significant number still lie on cemeteries on or near the battlefields covered by this book. This annex contains details of the cemeteries and how to find them.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)

The Commonwealth War Commission was formed in 1917, originally as the Imperial War Graves Commission, under Major General Sir Fabian Ware. As commander of a Red Cross mobile unit Ware started to record names and locations of graves, which at the time, beyond a wooden cross went largely unrecorded despite Army regulations. Good intentions, however, broke down in the chaos and under the weight of casualties. Under pressure from home, the War Office approved the formation of a Graves Registration Unit in 1915, under Ware who became a Temporary Major. Gradually the importance of care of war graves grew and in 1917 the present organization was founded. Today the Commission works in 140 countries and tends 1,146,105 graves and maintains memorials to many thousands more Commonwealth Soldiers who lost their lives in the Twentieth Century. General Haig commented in 1915:

‘It is recognized that the work of the organization is of purely sentimental value, and that it does not directly contribute to the successful termination of the war. It has, however, an extraordinary moral value to the troops as well as to the relatives and friends of the dead at home... Further, on the termination of hostilities, the nation will demand an account from the government as to the steps which have been taken to mark and classify the burial places of the dead...’

CWGC Cemetery Leopoldsburg

This cemetery is hard to find, as it is located off the main N73 road, on the outskirts of a Belgian Army Garrison near Leopoldsburg and is poorly signed. There are 767 graves, many of which are from the period of the advance from Brussels to the Escaut Canal, which culminated in the seizure of Joe’s bridge. Other graves date from later in the campaign, when a field hospital was located in the nearby barracks.

CWGC Cemetery Valkenswaard

This small woodland cemetery is located on the N69 between Joe’s Bridge and Valkenswaard itself. The cemetery was originally formed by the Irish Guards for the burial of soldiers killed on the opening day of MARKKET GARDEN. There are 222 British soldiers and two airmen, of whom thirty were killed on 17 or 18 September. The largest single regimental representation is the sixteen Irish Guardsmen killed during the breakout. They are buried very close to where they died in the German tank ambush on that Sunday afternoon. Also heavily represented are 2/Devons of 231 Brigade with eleven graves. These soldiers were killed while clearing the enemy from the surrounding woods as they advanced, on foot, parallel to the road. The remainder of the graves are mainly from the MARKET GARDEN period but are not exclusively from XXX Corps.

CWGC Eindhoven Woensel Civilian Cemetery

Having just turned off the Eindhoven inner ring road onto the John F Kennedy road keep an eye open for the green and white CWGC sign, on the left, indicating the Wonsel Cemetery. The CWGC plot containing 666 burials is an extension of the civilian cemetery

CWGC Cemetery Uden

699 burials. the cemetery is signed from N265 Uden bypass. A high proportion of the burials date from the MARKET GARDEN period.

American Battle Monuments Commission

Similar to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an agency of the Executive Branch of the US federal government. It is responsible for commemorating the service of US Forces’ world wide since April 1917 (their entry into World War I) by establishing suitable memorials and constructing, operating and maintaining permanent American military cemeteries overseas. The ABMC is also responsible for controlling the design and construction of U.S. military monuments and markers in foreign countries erected by other US citizens and organizations, both public and private; and overseeing their maintenance.

In 1947, the US Congress decided to give next of kin the option to chose where they would like the serviceman to be buried (unlike the Commonwealth next of kin). The choices were to remain in the theatre where they died or to return them to the US for burial in National Military Cemeteries or under private arrangements in hometown cemeteries. About 63% of all bodies were repatriated during 1948 and 1949.

The remaining US military graves were concentrated into a few large cemeteries. Of the 320,423 Second World War bodies of US servicemen, the ABMC is responsible for 93,242 graves across the world. The remainder of the bodies were returned to their families. Also commemorated by the ABMC are the names of 78,976 soldiers who are listed as Missing in Action.

Margraten Cemetery

Margraten is the only ABMC cemetery in Holland. The dead who were to remain in the care of the ABMC were brought here from temporary cemeteries across Holland, such as that at Mollenhoek at the foot of the Grossbeck heights. The cemetery is situated in the village of Margraten, six miles east of Maastricht near the southernmost point of Holland some two hours drive south of Nijmegen. The Cemetery is well signposted.

Margarten’s tall memorial tower is clearly visible as the visitor approaches the site, which covers over sixty acres. From the cemetery entrance, the visitor enters the Court of Honour with its pool reflecting the tower. To the right and left, respectively, are the visitors’ building and a building containing on its walls three engraved maps showing the operations conducted by US Forces in 1944 and 1945. Stretching along the side of the Court are the two Walls of the Missing on which are recorded the names of 1,723 who gave their lives in the service of the USA but who rest in unknown graves. At the base of the tower, facing the reflecting pool is a statue representing the grieving mother of her lost son. Beyond the tower, containing the cemetery’s chapel is the burial area. Divided into 16 plots the cemetery contains 8,301 graves, with the headstones set in long curves. A wide tree-lined mall leads to the flagstaff.

In the summer, the cemetery is open to visitors daily from 09.00 - 18.00 hours and in the winter from 09.00 to 17.00 hours. Details of the ABMC its work and cemeteries can be found on the Internet on http://www.usabmc.com/index.shtml

German

The German MARKET GARDEN dead are widely spread in cemeteries across the border in Germany or in the German Deutsche Kriegsgrabefürsorge cemetery at Lommel near Joe’s Bridge in Belgium or in Holland at Ijsselstijn.

Lommel German Cemetery

Turn left in, at the cross roads before reaching Joe’s Bridge. Head towards Hasselt and follow the white signs with black text ‘Deutscher Soldaten Friedhof’ to the cemetery. Originally an American temporary cemetery, this attractively laid out cemetery contains 542 graves dating back to the First World War. In 1947, once the American dead had been repatriated, no less than 38,614 German bodies were concentrated here from four other cemeteries in Belgium.

Ijsselstijn German Cemetery

Ijsselstijn German War Cemetery is sited in a remote spot thirty kilometres west of Eindhoven between that city and Venray. Follow the A270 from Eindhoven to Helmond where the road turns into the N270. Continue until the junction with the N277 is reached. Ijsseltijn is a mile to the south on the N277.

German soldiers who died and were originally buried in Holland between 1940 and 1945, were disinterred after the war and moved from communal or battlefield cemeteries across Holland and concentrated here for reburial. There are 31,511 bodies interned in this cemetery. Many of the soldiers who lie here, are those of the 8,000 (approximately) Germans killed during Operation MARKET GARDEN. Those from II SS Panzer Corps killed in Arnhem and on the Island were originally buried in the SS Heroes Cemetery on the outskirts of Arnhem. In line with normal policy, SS ranks have been converted into their Wehrmacht equivalents on all graves and memorials.