Bangladesh

List updated Nov. 17, 2006

Country Total = 9

9 graves in 2 cemeteries

Completed = 0 (or 0.0%)

CHITTAGONG WAR CEMETERY
Chittagong War Cemetery is in Dampara locality, No 19 Basha Mia Road, 22 kilometres north of the airport and 8 kilometres from the port on a site which was formerly paddy fields, but which has now been developed. It is near the arts college and close by Finlay's Guest Houses near Chatteshanry Road; a well known road leading to the Hindu Kali Bari Temple. There is no C.W.G.C. road direction sign. The Burial area is situated at the bottom of a slope directly behind Finlay's Guest Houses and is surrounded by a large area planted with a mixture of jungle trees,fruit trees and flowering trees. It is not easily seen from the road. A narrow tarmacked lane leads from the entrance gate to the burial area which is entered through a metal gate flanked by two small brick chapels. The cemetery gates are open from 07.00 to 12 noon and 14.00 to 17.00. Within the cemetery will also be found the Chittagong Memorial which, together with the Bombay 1939-1945 War Memorial, to be found in the Indian Seamen's Hostel Bombay, commemorates over 400 sailors of the former Indian Navy and nearly 6,000 sailors of the former Indian Merchant Navy who were lost at sea during the war years. Each memorial takes the form of a finely bound volume containing the names of the dead. CHITTAGONG, a port on the Bay of Bengal, has a long history. It was a stronghold of pirates in the 15th century, and today is an important trading centre and the terminus of the Assam-Bengal Railway. It is the nearest port to Northern Burma and in May 1942, when a Japanese attack seemed probable, the port was closed and much of the equipment removed; but when the danger of the invasion of India receded somewhat the port was reopened, and was later developed to meet operational needs in Burma. By November 1943 additional moorings for deep sea ships had been obtained from Calcutta, and most of the cranes taken away in 1942 had been replaced. After the retreat from Burma in 1942 the area was used as a training centre, and towards the end of 1943 Chittagong became an advanced base for the Fourteenth Army which at that time was operating on the Arakan front. It was also a hospital centre, and among others No. 152 British General Hospital was at Chittagong from December 1944 until October 1945, when it moved to Ragoon. Chittagong War Cemetery is 22 miles north of the town and 5 miles from the port on a site which was formerly paddy fields, but is now being rapidly developed. It is a quarter of a mile from the main road and is reached by a short road turning off the main road. It was created by the army, and there were originally about 400 burials. Graves have since been transferred to this cemetery from the Lushai Hills (Assam) and other isolated sites, and from Chittagong Civil Cemetery; Chandragona Baptist Mission Cemetery; Chiringa Military Cemetery; Cox's Bazar New Military and Civil (Muhammadan) Cemeteries; Chittagong (Panchalaish) Burial Ground; Dacca Military Cemetery; Demagiri Cemetery; Dhuapolong Muslim Burial Ground; Dhuapolong Christian Military Cemetery; Dohazari Military and R.A.F. Cemeteries; Jessore Protestant Cemetery; Khulna Cemetery; Khurushkul Island Christian and Muhammadan Cemeteries; Lungleh Cemetery (Assam); Nawapara Cemetery (Assam); Patiya Military Cemetery, Rangamati Cemetery; Tezgaon Roman Catholic Cemetery; Tumru Ghat Military Cemetery and Tumru M.D.S. Hospital Cemetery. There are now, therefore, 755 burials in this 1939-1945 War cemetery, which are classified on the opposite page. The two non-war graves are those of seamen of the British Merchant Navy whose death was not due to war service. The civilians mentioned in the footnotes to the classification are a member of the Indian Civil Service and a member of the Civil Affairs Staff (Burma). The site upon which this cemetery lies includes on the south-eastern side a horseshoe shaped hill which forms a natural amphitheatre. This is clothed by evergreen and flowering shrubs and is a charming background to the lawn-like plots of graves marked by bronze plaques mounted on low pedestals.

HINDS, Lieutenant, DUNCAN PERCY, 297270. General List. 31st July 1944. Age 27. Son of Percy Ernest and Mary Ann Hinds, of Morgenzon, Transvaal, South Africa. 6. A. 3

Rhodesia Units

BILESI MWABA, Private, NRA/11464. 3rd Bn. Northern Rhodesia Regiment. 3rd September 1945. 5. B. 2.

FRED, Private, RHO/1570. 1st Bn. Rhodesian African Rifles. 19th October 1945. 5. E. 12.

MAYNAMATI WAR CEMETERY

Maynamati is some 7 kilometres from the centre of Comilla, which is on the railway line linking Dhaka to Chittagong. It can be reached by train to Comilla railway station, 9 kilometres from the cemetery, or by the Dhaka - Chittagong highway. The cemetery is 1 kilometre down the road leading from Comilla to Sylinet and a short distance past the Cantonment Military Hospital. There is a C.W.G.C. road direction sign on a roundabout at the crossroad.

SPAFFORD, Lieutenant, ALAN LEONARD, 542789V. 99 Sqdn. South African Air Force. 21st January 1945. Age 31. Son of Leonard W. Spafford and Edith A. Spafford, of Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa. B.A Coll. grave 3. D. 19

Rhodesia Units

DONALD, Private, RHO/1934. 1st Bn. Rhodesian African Rifles. 5th May 1945. 3. G. 7.

LABSON NYIRENDA, Corporal, NRA/11344. 3rd Bn. Northern Rhodesia Regiment. 30th April 1945. 3. F. 6.

SHICHIYONGO SHALOBA, Private, NRA/5438. 1st Bn. Northern Rhodesia Regiment. 29th December 1944. 1. E. 17.

SIMASIKU, Private, RHO/4193. 1st Bn. Rhodesian African Rifles. 12th June 1945. 4. A. 11.

SODA FINASI, Private, RHO/1306. 1st Bn. Rhodesian African Rifles. 9th November 1945. 2. D. 5.

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