Myanmar - Commonwealth War Cemetery Than Byuzayat

Just a few km from the abandoned dead of the Death Railway at Than Byuzayat, stands an immaculate war cemetery for those who died 1939-1945. It was built and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in Maidenhead, England.

Although I don't know of anyone who was involved with the construction of the Death Railway or the terrible days of WW2, I found it very moving walking around. The Australian section is on the left, then the British area with Malaya, Singapore and India etc, and Dutch graves are on the right. There’s one row behind the British for the Indian Muslims etc. Although America is mentioned on the cross at the entrance, apparently the remains have been repatriated and buried in the US.

 frangipani

The cemetery is very well kept and is similiar to the one in Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia, but there are no large trees here, only frangipani.

It was interesting to see the differences on the gravestones. Many of the British graves had crosses and full regiment and most had an epitaph from family or friends -

The Dutch ones only show a brief description of regiment or rank -

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© Liz Price
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