Loading

The Pity of War

Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial is a cemetery and chapel between the villages of Coton and Madingley in Cambridgeshire, England. It was opened in 1956, and commemorates American servicemen and women who died in World War II. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission.
The cemetery dates to 1943, when it was opened as a temporary cemetery on 30.5 acres of land donated by the University of Cambridge. After the war, it was selected as the only permanent American World War II military cemetery in the British Isles.
The cemetery contains 3,809 headstones, with the remains of 3,812 servicemen, including airmen who died over Europe and sailors from North Atlantic convoys. The inscribed Wall of the Missing includes four representative statues of servicemen, sculpted by American artist Wheeler Williams. The wall records the names of 5,127 missing servicemen, most of whom died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in the strategic air bombardment of northwest Europe.

The cemetery is beautifully maintained, but is such a sad reminder of the pity of war.
Visible by: Everyone
(more information)

More information

Visible by: Everyone

All rights reserved

Report this photo as inappropriate

14 comments

Ste said:

Hello Amelia what an interesting shot and a poignant one also ... a place i had not heard of before but will look into in more detail and one i should visit myself also .. a fitting location with the number of U.S.A airbases around here during WWII

i should really make a visit to the Polish war graves at Newark too

LEST WE FORGET

Best wishes ... Steve
7 years ago

Amelia said:

We pass signs for this cemetery every time we go to Norfolk, Steve, and Adrian has always promised me that we'd go. This time it was on the cards, and we weren't disappointing, even though the road works made it impossible t to get to when going west. It really is very well worth a visit, and i could have stayed there for a lot longer, but he likes to get home.
Cheers, Amelia
7 years ago

Daniela Brocca said:

Great light, Amelia.I love this kind of cemetery , even if I never visited one.
7 years ago

Amelia replied to Daniela Brocca:

It is a beautiful but very poignant reminder of many of the young lives lost during WW11, Dany.
7 years ago

Sarah O' said:

Rips at my Heart but is absolutely beautiful Ive seen lovely photos of this place many many times, and ALWAYS REMEMBER the enormous sacrifices when seeing these rows and rows of some of the World's Bravest Men and Women!! These white crosses, stretched across this well kept green cemetery, bring a lump to the throat and in the Heart. YS
7 years ago

Amelia replied to Sarah O':

In between the crosses there were some stars too, Sarah. The whole area is so quiet, and brings a great sense of peace to everyone who visits there. I could have sat there all day in the warm sunshine and contemplated the pity of war.
7 years ago

Gudrun said:

You caught the shadows of the crosses and the curves so well!
7 years ago

Amelia replied to Gudrun:

The cemetery is laid out so well, Gudrun, and the day was so peaceful.
Anther anti-war poem by Wilfred Owen which you might like to read.
'Anthem for Doomed Youth.' www.warpoetry.co.uk/owen2.html
7 years ago

Gudrun replied to Amelia:

This poem is well known even to me! The horrors of WWI have given us some great poetry. In German language the Austrian poet Georg Trakl stands out: gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/georg-trakl-gedichte-5445/82 an english translation www.poetrybyheart.org.uk/poems/grodek
7 years ago

Amelia said:

Many thanks, Claudia. Despite the fact that this is a war graves cemetery, there is a great sense of peace here.
7 years ago

Rosalyn Hilborne said:

A superb series Amelia! It seems almost sadder to see the rows of crosses under a nice blue sky. War...will they ever learn!!
7 years ago

Keith Burton said:

I've said this before on here, but there's something about a military cemetery that brings a lump to my throat....................

Awesome image!
7 years ago

Nora Caracci said:

touching ...
but so very well taken
7 years ago

mg1744 said:

These youngsters stood up and sacrificed all. Only if that sacrifice is not forgotten will it not be dishonored.
6 years ago