Flags, wreaths & crosses left by visitors at Konyu Cutting, Hellfire Pass Memorial, Thailand
Visit a War Memorial or Cemetery
Visiting a memorial or cemetery is a private salute to the men and women commemorated. Whether they were friends, relatives, compatriots or simply fellow humans who had fought, suffered and died – visiting a grave or memorial keeps their memory alive.
Remember, when planning your visit to a memorial or cemetery:
- Be sure how to get there - maps and atlases.
- Know how to find any individual grave or listing you want to see.
Registers with grave locations and listings on Memorials to the Missing are available at every Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery and at the cemetery or memorial listing on the CWGC website. These include WW1 and WW2 war cemeteries and Memorials to the Missing outside and within Australia.
OAWG Gardens of Remembrance within Australia all have complete registers available. Other visitor information is given at the particular Garden's listing on this website.
OAWG has complete records of the graves, listings and memorials to all Australian war dead and post-war dead. Just contact us if you need any assistance locating a particular grave, listing or memorial.
Opening hours
Be aware that cemeteries and memorials within cemeteries may have limited opening hours, usually daylight hours. If you are uncertain, it is always a good idea to check with the particular cemetery before setting out to visit.
Also, military cemeteries may be within an operating military base and opening hours may be affected by operational conditions at the time. Once again, if in any doubt, check with the base or cemetery first.
Most overseas memorials (excluding Memorials to the Missing) are located in public places and so can be visited at any time, though those within cemeteries are subject to the cemeteries' opening hours.
Visitor information
Visitor information is included with the listing of particular overseas memorials or Gardens of Remembrance on this website.
Visitor informaiton about WW1 and WW2 war cemeteries and Memorials to the Missing can be found on the CWGC website.
See:
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission website
- OAWG Gardens of Remembrance
- Find where a serviceman or woman is buried Or Contact Office of Australian War Graves
Finding battlefield remains
Certain battlefield areas, such as the Gallipoli Peninsula, contain such vast numbers of casualties that could not be formally buried that the area represents a vast burial ground and should be respected as such. Should you find a bone fragment, the policy is to rebury it at the site. Should you discover more significant remains, leave them alone and contact CWGC straight away.
See:
- Discovery of remains at Gallipoli – guidance notes for visitors
- Contact Commonweatlh War Graves Commission about remains at the Commonwealth War Graves Commision website.
Need more information?
The one-time grave of an unknown Australian soldier at Adelaide Cemetery, France. 1.
Footnotes
- Much visited by Australians is the one-time grave, at Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux in France, of the unknown Australian solider whose remains now lie in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra