Search Cyprus, Monumental Inscriptions

Each record includes a transcript and the option to view the original image. Some of the monumental inscriptions also have an image of the individual included on the headstone. While details can vary for each record, you can expect to find a combination of the following facts:

• Name
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Date of death
• Cause of death
• Military rank
• Military regiment
• Occupation
• Cemetery

These records are brought to you thanks to the brilliant work of Louise Cocker, who has documented burials and memorial inscriptions in cemeteries and burial grounds across many countries including England, Germany, Cyprus, Italy and Greece.

This collection covers 3 cemeteries on the island – British Cemetery Kolossi, Limassol Cemetery and Polemidia Military Cemetery. Although many of the monumental inscriptions in this collection are burials of British individuals and are in English, there are also many local Cypriot burials which are in Greek.

The Polemidia Military Cemetery, which is also known as the Limassol British Cemetery, was established in 1882 and is located on the outskirts of Limassol. The cemetery served the British garrison that was located at Polemidia Camp, highlighting the British military presence in Cyprus during the 19th and 20th centuries. Notably, there are some British Servicemen from the First and Second World Wars also buried at this site.

The British Cemetery in Kolossi serves as a memorial to the British nationals who lived and died in the area during the 19th and early 20th centuries. If you have ancestors who lived in Cyprus, then these records could help you discover new connections to the island.

Britain has had a presence in Cyprus since the late 19th century and it is estimated that roughly 20-30,000 British nationals are living on the island today. Cyprus officially became a British Crown Colony in 1925 which resulted in thousands of British civil servants, military personnel and their families settling on the island. Although Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960, the retention of two large military bases on the island in Akrotiti and Dhekelia saw the ongoing settlement of a significant British population. Although many Brits lived on military bases, pockets of British expatriates also thrived outside these bases, particularly in Paphos, Limassol and Larnaca. Many British colonial buildings still stand on the island today and cemeteries like Polemidia Military Cemetery reflect the historical presence of Brits in Cyprus.