Search Greece, Commonwealth War Graves and Monumental Inscriptions

Each record includes a transcript and the option to view the original image. While details can vary for each record, you can expect to find a combination of the following facts:

• Name
• Date of death
• Age
• Military regiment
• Military rank
• Role
• Service number

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 the Souda Bay War Cemetery on the Greek island of Crete, which is located roughly 5km from the centre of the city of Chania. The cemetery was built and is continuously maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is responsible for the commemoration of almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who lost their lives during the First and Second World Wars. Graves and memorials for these brave men and women can be found around the world in more than 150 different countries.

1,500 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War are commemorated in the Souda Bay War Cemetery. The cemetery also contains 19 burials from the First World War that were brought in from the Souda Bay Consular Cemetery. Unfortunately, 776 of the burials in Souda Bay Cemetery are unidentified, however, special memorials were erected to commemorate several casualties who are believed to be buried among them. In the corner of the cemetery, there is also a pillar memorial to the Seaforth Highlanders and their part in the occupation of Crete from March to November 1887.

Most of the graves at Souda Bay are those of British, Australian and New Zealand allied forces who died during the Battle of Crete, which was the first major airborne invasion in military history and the first time that invading forces relied almost entirely on airborne forces. The Battle of Crete took place between the 20th of May and the 1st of June 1941. The German forces used paratroopers, gliders and sea reinforcements and eventually took control of Crete on the 1st of June 1941. Crete was particularly important during the war for strategic reasons due to its location on the coast of the eastern Mediterranean. Of the total Commonwealth land force of 32,000 men, 18,000 were evacuated, 12,000 were taken prisoner and 2,000 were killed during the Battle of Crete.