The Anzio War Cemetery
The first British Commonwealth war cemetery established after the landings at Anzio in WW2.
This is the closest war cemetery to both the centre of Anzio and the Operation Shingle landing beaches. It’s full name is “The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Anzio War Cemetery”. It is only 1km from the town centre directly adjacent to an Italian communal cemetery. The, larger, CWGC Anzio Beach Head Cemetery is about 5 miles north and the , even larger, American cemetery is in the nearby town of Nettuno. The Anzio War Cemetery exclusively contains graves of those killed in the imediate locality , in contrast to the other two cemeteries which also contain burials which were relocated from later operations in the wider Italian campaign.
The Anzio War Cemetery is said to have a special relationship with the local population which is probably influenced by its proximity to the civilian cemetery directly adjacent. The site for this cemetery was selected not long after the Anzio landings which formed Operation Shingle and the burials here date from the period immediately following the landings.
Anzio War Cemetery contains 1,056 Commonwealth burials The cemetery was designed by the British architect Louis de Soissons and is the subject of a well known poem by Micheal Elliot-Binns which starts with the lines :
Outside the civilian cemetery
With its cypresses and shrines
The pitiful rectangles of dust
Are dressed in military lines.
A visit here can be for many reasons. For those interested in military history the the presence of the graves of soldiers from several now defunct or merged local regiments is of particular interest. These include the Sherwood Forresters Regiment (recruited from Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) ( https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/crich-stand&ved=2ahUKEwig8fmE5amJAxWtREEAHTsLESgQFnoECBEQAQ&usg=AOvVaw37iWpR07rAYsNuKV1tsqAg), the, strangely named, Loyal Regiment (recruited from North Lancashire) and the Royal Berkshire regiment , whose 10th battalion, which served at Anzio after being renamed from the 50th Holding Battalion largely made up, at the time of its formation, of soldiers who were medically unfit or, in army terms, homeless , having just returned from overseas service.
Know Before You Go
Free parking is available next to the cemetery but it may be difficult if a visit coincides with a funeral at the adjacent civil cemetery .
As well as the allied cemeteries there is the Campo della Memoria in nearby Nettuno which is for soldiers (mainly marines) of the Italian Social Republic which fought alongside the Germans in the battle of Anzio after most Italian forces had changed sides after the 1944 armistice.
Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.
Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.
Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook