Hindhead Military Cemetery

Hindhead Military Cemetery
Name	Hindhead Military Cemetery
Caption	Cemetery entrance
Established	1920
Country	United Kingdom
Location	Hindhead, Surrey
Type	Military cemetery
Owner	Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Graves	152

Hindhead Military Cemetery Hindhead Military Cemetery is a small Commonwealth burial ground in Hindhead, Surrey, created after the First World War to inter service personnel and later Second World War casualties and associated veterans. The site is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and lies within the parish of Haslemere near the A3 trunk road and A3 (Great Britain) corridor between London and Portsmouth. It contains burials connected with nearby convalescent hospitals, training establishments, and local wartime installations.

History

The cemetery was established in 1920 following post‑war consolidation policies administered by the Imperial War Graves Commission—the precursor to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission—to concentrate graves from small churchyards and hospital plots across Surrey and neighbouring Hampshire. Many interments derive from personnel treated at military hospitals such as those in Haslemere Hospital, St Luke's Hospital, Guildford and convalescent homes in the South East England region. Casualties include those from the First World War, the Second World War, and inter‑war service deaths, reflecting connections to Royal Navy training at nearby ports, British Army units billeted on the South Coast, and Royal Air Force operations from southern aerodromes.

Concentration of graves was part of wider twentieth‑century efforts following the Treaty of Versailles era to provide permanent commemoration for fallen Commonwealth forces, paralleling developments at major sites such as Brookwood Military Cemetery, Tyne Cot Cemetery, and Méaulte British Cemetery. The site has also been used for burials of foreign nationals who served with Commonwealth units, including members of the Australian Imperial Force, the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and colonial contingents.

Design and Layout

The cemetery's layout reflects designs by architects employed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, following principles applied by designers such as Sir Edwin Lutyens, Philip Hepworth, and Herbert Baker at larger commissions, though on a reduced scale. Features include a central headstone arrangement, uniform upright gravestones made from Portland stone, low boundary walls, and horticultural planting consistent with Commission standards introduced in the 1920s and refined through the 1930s and post‑1945 period.

A Cross of Sacrifice bearing the signature blade motif designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield is characteristic of CWGC cemeteries of this size and is complemented by a Stone of Remembrance in larger regional sites; Hindhead’s modest plan omits the latter but adheres to the same formal axes seen at Tyne Cot Cemetery and Brookwood Military Cemetery. The planting palette includes yew and holly consistent with Victorian and Edwardian cemetery practices and with contemporaneous work at Runnymede Memorial and Menin Gate landscapes. Paths, lawned plots, and maintenance regimes follow CWGC horticultural manuals and conservation policies implemented after the Second World War.

Notable Burials

Interments include personnel from diverse formations and nations who died while on active service, in hospital care, or through accidents during training. Individual burials include officers and enlisted men from the Royal Fusiliers, the Royal Engineers, the Royal Army Service Corps, the Royal Army Medical Corps, and the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. Commonwealth contributors represented include soldiers from the Australian Imperial Force, the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the South African Army, and the Indian Army.

The cemetery contains graves of men decorated with gallantry and campaign medals awarded under regulations such as the Victoria Cross and the Military Cross (though not every decorated individual buried there received national publicity). It also includes burials of those evacuated from the Dunkirk evacuation, personnel involved with Home Defence units, and aircrew from squadrons stationed at southern RAF bases. Several graves mark deaths resulting from the 1918‑19 influenza pandemic among convalescents and staff transferred from regional hospitals.

Records and Administration

Burial registers and plot maps are held and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which records details of the interred and administers headstone inscriptions according to rules established after the First World War. Administrative responsibility includes conservation, horticulture, and digital records accessible via CWGC archives; the Commission liaises with veteran organisations such as the Royal British Legion, regimental museums like the Royal Fusiliers Museum, and national archives including The National Archives (United Kingdom) for documentary holdings.

Genealogists and historians consult burial certificates, service records from the British Army personnel files, naval service documents held at The National Archives (United Kingdom), and pension ledgers for further biographical detail. The site is subject to heritage protection frameworks applicable to commemorative cemeteries in England and to public records legislation governing access to service records.

Location and Access

The cemetery stands on gently sloping ground near the village of Hindhead, within the borough of Waverley (district) and close to landmarks such as the A3 (Great Britain), the Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl National Nature Reserve, and the town of Haslemere. Nearest rail services operate from Haslemere railway station on the Waterloo‑Portsmouth line and local bus routes connect via the A3 corridor. Visitor facilities are limited to signage and seating typical of CWGC sites; access is generally open during daylight hours with parking available on nearby public roads and at designated car parks serving the nature reserve and village.

For researchers, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission provides online registers and can assist with enquiries; local history centres such as the Haslemere Educational Museum and county archives in Surrey History Centre hold complementary material. The cemetery is within reach of regional centres including Guildford, Cranleigh, and Aldershot, facilitating visits combined with study at military museums and regimental archives.

Category:Cemeteries in Surrey Category:Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries