Search Hungary, Commonwealth War Graves and 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
• Date of death
• Military rank
• Military regiment
• Service number
• 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.

The Budapest War Cemetery serves as the principal Commonwealth war cemetery in Hungary and is a lasting memorial to the servicemen who lost their lives in the country during the Second World War.

During WWII, Hungary was aligned with the Axis powers until late 1944. In March 1944, Germany occupied Hungary to prevent it from negotiating peace with the Allies. By late 1944 and early 1945, Soviet forces advanced into Hungary during their push toward Germany, leading to heavy fighting, especially in the Battle of Budapest (December 1944 – February 1945), one of the longest and bloodiest urban battles of the war.

Though Hungary saw little direct involvement by British or Commonwealth ground forces, RAF bombing campaigns over Central and Eastern Europe brought Allied airmen into Hungarian airspace. Many of those buried in the cemetery were aircrew from RAF Bomber Command or transport missions, shot down over Hungary during these operations. Others were prisoners of war held in Hungary who died in captivity or during forced marches in the chaotic final months of the war.

After the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) began the process of identifying and concentrating graves. Many of the men buried at Budapest were initially interred in scattered locations across Hungary, such as small village cemeteries or crash sites. These graves were exhumed and reinterred in Budapest War Cemetery, established to provide a central and dignified burial ground.

The cemetery today contains:

173 Commonwealth burials from WWII, including:

170 identified servicemen

3 unknown burials

1 First World War burial, relocated in 1958

37 Polish graves, reflecting the involvement of Polish forces with the Allies

1 French war grave