The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War. The commission was founded by Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. The change to the present name took place in 1960.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a tomb situated before the National War Memorial in Confederation Square, Ottawa, Ontario. The tomb is dedicated to Canadian service members, and holds the remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in France during the First World War; selected from a Commonwealth War Grave near Vimy, in the vicinity where the Battle of Vimy Ridge took place.
The Kandyan Wars refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to describe the expeditionary campaigns of the British Army in the Kingdom of Kandy in 1803 and 1815.
The Kranji War Memorial is located at 9 Woodlands Road, in Kranji in northern Singapore. Dedicated to the men and women from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Sri Lanka, India, Malaya, the Netherlands and New Zealand who died defending Singapore and Malaya against the invading Japanese forces during World War II, it comprises the War Graves, the Memorial Walls, the State Cemetery, and the Military Graves.
Black July was an anti-Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated, and was finally triggered by a deadly ambush on 23 July 1983, which caused the death of 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers, by the Tamil militant group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Although initially orchestrated by members of the ruling UNP, the pogrom soon escalated into mass violence with significant public participation.
British Ceylon, officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931and finally the Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies from 1931 to 1948, was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka.
The Tamil Eelam Air Force or Sky Tigers was the air-wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who used it against the Government of Sri Lanka. They also called themselves the Tamileelam Air Force (TAF). Though the existence of the Sky Tigers had been the subject of speculation for many years, the existence of the wing was only revealed after an attack in March 2007, during Eelam War IV.
Between 1948 and 1972, Ceylon was an independent country in the Commonwealth of Nations, that shared a monarch with other dominions of the Commonwealth. In 1948, the British Colony of Ceylon was granted independence as Ceylon. In 1972, the country became a republic within the Commonwealth, and its name was changed to Sri Lanka.
Diyatalawa is a former garrison town in the central highlands of Sri Lanka, in the Badulla District of Uva Province. It is situated at an altitude of 1,281 m (4,203 ft) and has become a popular destination for local holiday makers. It is home to the Diyatalawa Garrison of the Sri Lanka Army, which includes the Sri Lanka Military Academy, officer training centre of the army; SLAF Diyatalawa, the Sri Lanka Air Force's ground combat training centre; and facilities of the Sri Lanka Police.
Étaples Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Étaples, near Boulogne on the north-west coast of France. The cemetery holds over 11,500 dead from both World War I and World War II.
The Trincomalee Garrison is a common name used for collection of military bases of the Sri Lanka Army located in and around the Fort Fredrick and the town of Trincomalee in the Eastern Province. Due to the large natural harbor, it is one of the oldest military garrisons in Sri Lanka and has been occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch, French and the British. Known as Trincomalee Fortress during World War II.
Trincomalee British War Cemetery is a British military cemetery in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, for soldiers of the British Empire who were killed or died during World War II. The cemetery also has graves of Dutch, French, Italian and other allied forces. The cemetery is located on Trincomalee–Nilaveli (A6) Road, approximately 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the town of Trincomalee, on the eastern side. It is one of the six Commonwealth war cemeteries in Sri Lanka, and maintained by Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Chattogram Commonwealth War Cemetery or Chattogram War Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Chattogram, Bangladesh.
The 1915 Sinhalese-Muslim riots was a widespread and prolonged ethnic riot in the island of Ceylon between Sinhalese Buddhists and the Ceylon Moors. The riots were eventually suppressed by the British colonial authorities.
Sri Lanka–United Kingdom relations, or British-Sri Lankan relations, are foreign relations between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.
British Garrison Cemetery is a British cemetery in Kandy, Sri Lanka, for British nationals who died in Ceylon. It was established in 1817 just after British captured the Kandy and closed in 1873 due to a ban on burials within the municipal limits, although special provision was given to allow the burial of relatives of those interred in the cemetery, with last person buried there being Annie Fritz in 1951. The cemetery contains 195 graves of men, women and children. The most common causes of death were tropical diseases such as malaria and cholera.
Foncquevillers Military Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for military personnel who died on the Western Front during the First World War. It is located in the Pas de Calais region of France. Originally established in 1915 by the French military for its soldiers, it was later used for British personnel. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, there are 648 soldiers of the First World War interred in the cemetery with 53 of them unidentified. Another four graves are for German soldiers of the First World War, while five Canadian airmen who died in the Second World War and a French civilian are also buried in the cemetery.
Liveramentu Cemetery, also locally known as Jawatta Cemetery or the Torrington Cemetery, is a large municipal cemetery, located approximately 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the Colombo city centre, on Torrington Avenue. It is also the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in Sri Lanka.
Kanatte Cemetery, also known locally as Borella Cemetery, is Colombo's main burial ground and crematorium.
