Chattogram
A quiet, well-kept Commonwealth cemetery for soldiers of the Second World War.
The cemetery is a place of remembrance. Families and veterans’ groups from abroad still visit, and on Remembrance Sunday in November a ceremony is usually held here, with wreaths laid at the Cross of Sacrifice. The headstones follow the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s uniform design, so that every man is commemorated equally, whatever his rank, and the graves of soldiers of different faiths are marked accordingly.
The Chittagong War Cemetery is one of the two Commonwealth war cemeteries in Bangladesh (the other is in Mainamati, near Cumilla). It holds the graves of soldiers, sailors and airmen who died during the Second World War, many of them in the Burma campaign, when Chattogram was a base close to the front line against the Japanese advance.
The men buried here came from Britain, undivided India, East and West Africa and elsewhere — a reminder of how far that war reached. Their graves lie in neat rows of identical headstones on a gently sloping lawn, each with a name, a regiment and often a few words chosen by the family.
The cemetery is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and is kept immaculately: trimmed grass, flowering trees and deep quiet, just off busy city streets. It is a short, moving visit, and one of the calmest places in Chattogram.
Start in the morning light. Walk the rows and read a few of the inscriptions.
Stop for tea and a bela biscuit at a stall nearby.
Ride north to the hilltop shrine and see the rare turtles in its pond.
End with a Chattogram lunch of mezbani beef or kala bhuna.
Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)View larger map (opens in a new tab)
Any time of year; mornings and late afternoons are cooler and the light is softest. November to February is most pleasant.
In the city, off Badsha Mia Road: a short CNG or rickshaw ride from GEC or Chawkbazar.
