Cemetaries

It's impossible to drive through Northern France without passing numerous war cemetaries. The rows upon rows of tombstones are a stark reminder of the wars that passed through this region. Many of these are British or Commonwealth cemetaries, like this one on the Vimy Memorial site:
Here is a French cemetary:
And a German:
This particular cemetary is huge and rather eerie. Most of these crosses mark 4 burials. There is also a mass grave here. Notice the different markers used for Jewish soldiers:
Commonwealth cemetaries are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). CWGC cemetaries are by far the most well maintained. For every burial, about $90 (Can) a year is spent on maintenance. You'll always find the grass perfectly manicured and the headstones and plants surrounding them impeccably groomed. These cemetaries are meant to have the feel of a peaceful English garden. The CWGC has detailed records of every known burial of Commonwealth soldiers throughout the world.

From time to time a soldier may have been buried alone in a local town cemetary. The CWGC maintains these graves as well. If you visit one of these, despite the fact that the rest of the cemetary may be completely dillapidated, you'll find a path mown through the grass right up to that plot and the tiny patch of ground around that one grave as carefully groomed as those in the war cemetaries. The care that the CWGC puts into maintaining these graves and cemetaries is phenomenol.
Some inscriptions:


The cross in the picture at the top of this post is known as a "cross of sacrifice." Every CWGC cemetary has one; there are 4 different sizes based on the number of burials in that cemetary.

In the "absence" of the memorial, the cemetaries are quickly becoming my favorite area on the site. Whether it's raining or sunny, they are so beautiful and peaceful. Standing around saying "bonjour hello" to people gets old really fast and it becomes very easy to forget what we are there to commemorate. Spending time wandering around one of the cemetaries really helps to remind me of the overwhelming events that took place there 90 years ago.