Cambridge American Cemetery & Memorial

The Cambridge American Cemetery is the only American WW2 cemetery in the United Kingdom. It is one of 24 overseas American cemeteries administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, the smallest independent executive agency of the American Government.

The cemetery was first opened on 7th December 1943 as one of three temporary American cemeteries in the United Kingdom. After the war it was chosen as the only permanent American cemetery in the United Kingdom on land donated by the University of Cambridge. It is the final resting place of 3,812 men and women who gave their lives in the Battle of the Atlantic, the strategic bombing campaign over Europe, those who died in the invasion of Europe and who were killed in training exercises on British soil. The lives of another 5,127 men and women whose bodies were never recovered are commemorated on a wall of missing.

The cemetery is not just a place where men and women are buried. It combines art, landscape and symbolism in a way rarely found elsewhere in this country. Built on a gentle slope overlooking the flat area to the north of Cambridge if affords fine views over the countryside including that of Ely Cathedral over seventeen miles away.

The flag pole at the cemetery is a good point of orientation to the visitor. From there it is possible to view the entire site. Fan shaped burial plots radiate like the spokes of a wheel whist three reflecting pools resembling the Mall in Washington flank the wall of missing and lead to a Memorial Chapel. The memorial chapel contains a mosaic ceiling, windows commemorating every US state and a large map detailing the Battle of the Atlantic and the air campaign fought over the skies of occupied Europe.

The cemetery has its own visitor’s centre where staff are on hand to answer questions and subject to availability can provided guided tours. The centre also contains information on those commemorated in the cemetery including leaflets to help visitors orientate themselves as they tour the grounds. Plans are well advanced to provide a state of the art interpretive centre aimed at enhancing the visitors understanding of the site.