Tombstones Of The War Dead: A Spectacle of Epitaphs and Emblems

Abstract

The Madras War Cemetery (1939-1945) is a celebration of war dead laid to rest in St. Thomas Mount in the border of Madras known for its history and heritage. The cemetery, one among the 34 of its kind in India, is meant to keep alive the memories of soldiers, sailors, and airmen–from Australia, Burma, Canada, India, New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and West Africa–who served in garrisons and died in India on their way to battle fields in far off places to fight in the Second World War on behalf of the (British) Commonwealth of Nations. They died “thousands of miles away from their hearth and home, leaving a void in their families and a trail of grief” but their mortal remains found a haven in the Madras War Cemetery.