By Paul Topping

As the road bends on a peaceful hillside twenty minutes drive from the centre of Kandy we find the final resting place of 203 souls. What is striking about this little cemetery is its peaceful beauty and immaculate presence.

Buried in this impressively well-kept cemetery are people representing much of the British Empire at the time of the Second World War. In addition to British, Canadians, Indians, Africans and Ceylonese (as they then were) there are also French and Italians.

Most were serving in the British Army, with 32 individuals from the Royal Airforce and 16 from the Royal Navy. Not surprisingly, considering the geographic range, various religions are represented: Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish and perhaps others.

Visiting this relatively small cemetery, set on a sloping hillside within a rolling landscape, it is difficult to remain unmoved once one passes through the gate. Most of these people died a long way from home.

When I walk cemeteries, which I do often I read as many headstones as possible. Given this is a small cemetery,  I must have read about thirty, but I looked at all of them. Amongst the dead is a Canadian woman, Betty, a pilot who delivered warplanes to various locations for the Allied forces. There is also a French chef, with the rank of Sergeant, two Italians, whose graves state "Morto Per La Patria" (Died for his country).

The inclusion of Italians in an Allied War Cemetery is at first sight curious, as Italy was a member of the Axis Powers. But a glance at the date of the death (6th May 1945) of Captain Giovanni Puggioni explains why he found his place amongst the Allied dead. Italy changed sides after the overthrow of “Il Duce’, Mussolini, and declared war on Germany late in 1943. One can speculate that perhaps Captain Puggioni started the war fighting against the British in North Africa and ended it fighting the Japanese in Asia. Such are the vagaries of nationality, politics and war.

A true son of Israel, H.I.Rosenfield is interred here, as is Daula, a soldier of India. A fireman is buried here and, inevitably, and sadly, two unknown casualties.

The plaque says that most of those buried in this site were casualties of conflict in April 1942. One wonders why they were buried here in Kandy as the April 1942 Japanese attacks were on Trincomalee and Colombo. Perhaps they were moved to Kandy to recuperate, but didn’t recover from their injuries.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the graves of those members of the military and some civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War. It started as the Imperial War Graves Commission in 1917 and changed name in 1960. In total, it cares for the grave of a staggering 1,700,000 individuals around the world.

The graves are looked after with great care and dedication, usually by a small group of local employees who take pride in their work. In the case of this cemetery the caretaker lives on site as did his father before him. He has many a story to tell about many of those buried on the site and those that come to visit.

It is a moving and salutary experience to visit any of these cemeteries and reflect on the life and times of the people buried there. I hope but doubt that the younger generation of today are brought to places like this to see what war creates.