UK War Graves and the CWGC: How to Find, Visit and Research Them

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) looks after the graves and memorials of Commonwealth service personnel who died in the First and Second World Wars. It was set up under a Royal Charter in 1917 and now cares for sites in 23,000 locations across more than 150 countries and territories. In Britain, the CWGC says more than 183,000 Second World War casualties are commemorated, and many lie in village churchyards and town cemeteries rather than in large military cemeteries.

What is the CWGC?

The CWGC is an intergovernmental body. Its member governments are Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and they share the costs in proportion to the number of graves. The CWGC gives the 2019/20 split as UK 78.43%, Canada 10.07%, Australia 6.05%, New Zealand 2.14%, South Africa 2.11% and India 1.20%.

Its founding principle is equality of commemoration: it says it does not differentiate between the dead by social or military rank, or by religion. This is why headstones follow a standard layout. Families could choose a religious emblem and a personal inscription.

Who is commemorated?

The CWGC commemorates people who died during these periods:

• First World War: 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921
• Second World War: 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947

That includes those in Commonwealth forces and named auxiliary organisations, people whose wartime service caused their death after they were discharged, and Commonwealth civilians who died from enemy action or in prisoner camps in the Second World War. The database has a "Civilian War Dead 1939-1945" category.

A person who died in service after 31 December 1947 is not a CWGC commemoration. Veterans UK has a contact form for service records of a deceased relative, and a separate bereavement line (0800 169 3458) that GOV.UK says cannot answer general queries.

Where are UK war graves?

The CWGC says Britain's war dead were caused by air combat and bombing raids, naval warfare off the coast, training accidents and medical evacuations from other theatres. They lie in two kinds of place:

• Military cemeteries and large plots. Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey is the largest Second World War cemetery in Britain, with over 4,000 graves. The CWGC also names Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery and Cambridge City Cemetery.
• Single graves in civilian cemeteries and churchyards. Thousands of war graves are scattered in local burial grounds, often for someone who died in a UK hospital or was brought home to a family plot.

If you want to find a cemetery near you, see our guide to finding a cemetery, and FindAGrave is a useful companion for general family history.

How do you find a war grave?

1. Go to the CWGC's Find War Dead search.
2. Enter what you know: surname, initials or first name, service number, regiment, rank, age, date of death or cemetery. Tick First World War or Second World War.
3. Use "match this search term exactly" for common names, or search by cemetery to see everyone buried there.
4. Open the record. It shows rank, unit, service number, date of death, and the grave or memorial location. Some show next-of-kin details and extra notes the family supplied.

The CWGC warns that ages and other details can be wrong, because some were given by families years later, and the original records were typed by hand.

What the records don't include

The CWGC holds grave registration, cemetery and memorial records and headstone schedules. It does not hold full service records, medal details, personal photographs or birth, marriage and death certificates. For photographs, researchers are generally pointed to museums and national archives. Its own archive, at archive.cwgc.org, has over 10,000 digitised items about the organisation and its sites, and a reading room at its head office in Maidenhead by appointment.

Can you visit and leave tributes?

Yes. The CWGC says you can leave fresh flowers, wreaths and poppy crosses at headstones and memorials. It discourages permanent items, because they interfere with maintenance, and asks that nothing be fixed to headstones or planted in the borders. Food should not be left, to protect wildlife and keep the site clean. If you notice damage to a headstone, contact the CWGC.

Photographs are welcome, and the CWGC encourages sharing them. See our grave decoration rules for what ordinary cemeteries allow.

Can records or headstones be changed?

The CWGC accepts amendment requests through its Record Amendment Request Form when several official sources show an error. It will not alter choices the casualty made, such as the name they used or the religion they chose.

What is the CWGC's Non-Commemoration programme?

The programme, described by the CWGC as work "to put right the wrongs of the past", looks at service personnel in British and imperial forces who were not properly recognised or commemorated. Recent projects include new memorials in Sierra Leone and South Africa and research into deaths in the East Africa Campaign. The CWGC's Non-Commemoration pages have the current numbers.

If you are arranging a funeral for someone else

War graves are a matter of historical commemoration. If you're arranging a funeral now, the rules and costs are different. See UK burial and cremation laws and UK funeral financial help.

What to do next

1. Search Find War Dead for the name, and note the cemetery and grave reference.
2. Check the cemetery page for directions, and plan to bring fresh flowers.
3. For records the CWGC doesn't hold, try the Imperial War Museum, national archives or the Veterans UK service records team.
4. If you spot an error, collect at least two official documents and use the amendment form.