Historical Information
The cemetery was used throughout the 1914-1918 War for the burial of sailors and soldiers who died on ships passing Gibraltar, or in the Military Hospital. The 1914-1918 War Graves are scattered in the different divisions of the cemetery. Originally a Cross of Sacrifice stood in the cemetery, but in 1941 it was taken down for military reasons. After the war, the original Cross was found to be too badly damaged by erosion to re-erect and the original location was found to be no longer available, so a new Cross was erected to the West of the cemetery, close to the sea, at the junction of the road into Spain and the Devil's Tower Road.
Twenty-three burials belong to H.M.S. "Britannia," sunk by a submarine off Cape Trafalgar on the 9th November 1918. There are also many graves of merchant sailors who died during the war from natural causes.
The majority of the men who lost their lives while at Gibraltar during the 1939-1945 War are buried here. Most of their graves are in two adjacent plots at the northern end of the cemetery, but some are also scattered in other parts.
The cemetery is situated on Crown land, and (with the exception of those privately owned) all the War Graves in it are registered in perpetuity in the Commission's name.
