Trincomalee War Cemetery
Trincomalee War Cemetery
4.5
About
Trincomalee is a seaport on the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and was formerly a naval station. After the fall of Singapore it became a naval base of importance to our command of shipping in the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. The cemetery was originally the Combined Services Cemetery, but was taken over by the Admiralty from the military authorities in April 1948 for use as a permanent naval cemetery. On the withdrawal of United Kingdom Forces from Ceylon it became the property of the Ceylon Government who have granted the Commission security of tenure in perpetuity. Save for a few post-war and non-war graves it is purely a war cemetery, and service war graves were transferred to it from Trincomalee (St. Mary) Churchyard; Trincomalee (St. Stephen's) Cemetery, Kottadi Cemetery, Jaffna; and Vavuiyna Combined Cemetery. A special memorial commemorates a naval man buried in Trincomalee (St. Stephen's) Cemetery whose grave could not be found. The non-war graves are those of men of the Merchant Navy whose death was not due to war service, and of civilians, of whom some were employees of the Admiralty; while the post-war graves were dependents of servicemen, civilian employees of the Admiralty and dependents of such employees.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
290 reviews
Excellent
189
Very good
77
Average
18
Poor
6
Terrible
0
Alex W
3 contributions
Feb 2024 • Solo
This is a really peaceful place to disappear to and escape the hussle and bussle of Trincomalee roads. Very tranquil setting, which encourages quiet reflection.
I went twice. It was fascinating to learn about the different nationalities of those who gave so much, and of how the conflict affected Sri Lanka.
A groundskeeper approached me and gave me a little more background info on my second visit. Very knowledgeable and approachable chap. And the place is immaculate, with good bird life. A must visit if you have a spare 30 minutes.
I went twice. It was fascinating to learn about the different nationalities of those who gave so much, and of how the conflict affected Sri Lanka.
A groundskeeper approached me and gave me a little more background info on my second visit. Very knowledgeable and approachable chap. And the place is immaculate, with good bird life. A must visit if you have a spare 30 minutes.
Written February 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve D
Caerleon, UK380 contributions
Feb 2020
We visited the Cemetery and were really impressed with the way the place was so beautifully kept. We were given an overview of the history of the Cemetery one of the lads who worked there. It is quite a small place and we spent about 45 minutes looking around.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
George Fernando
Matale, Sri Lanka3 contributions
Jun 2022
today we visited the Cemetery and were really impressed with the way the place was so beautifully kept. We were given an overview of the history of the Cemetery one of the lads who worked there. It is quite a small place and we spent about 45 minutes looking around.A place for quite reflection.
Written June 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alex
London, UK22 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
Beautifully maintained Commonwealth war cemetery. Well worth a walk around the 364 headstones. The groundsmen can give some background so worth chatting to them. Really easy walk from the hotels and hostels.
Written January 10, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tracy S
Newmarket, UK169 contributions
Sep 2019
Went here to pay respects to people killed in world war 2 met a fascinating man told us all about the history of the place and how it was his dads job before his and passed down to him how his dad and princess Anne planted a tree .
The gardens are very very well kept and looked after well
The gardens are very very well kept and looked after well
Written September 11, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PauSerraBou
Province of Barcelona, Spain731 contributions
Sep 2019 • Couples
There are 13 different nationatities buried in this place. Young people who died during WWII and who's now resting in peace there. Not impressive as a monument but at least poignant to see tombs so far away from people's home land.
Written September 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
APYE
Thames Ditton, UK149 contributions
Feb 2019 • Couples
Good to know the history behind the involvement of Sri Lanka in the war. Also the Japanese bombed the harbour on Trinco.
Written February 13, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ericnjan
Bolton, UK15 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
This peaceful cemetary is beautifully kept by the staff. It has 364 graves, and many do not contain bodies having never been recovered. This includes British, French, Dutch forces, but also Muslim and Indian members of the forces - it shows what a truly allied force was out here and 'fought for our futures'. Very moving to walk around the graveyard, any visit pays tribute to the fallen.
Written November 5, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pete B
Greater London, UK101 contributions
Sep 2018 • Couples
Popped past on the way to Trinco. Absolutely lovely and the caretaker will show you around. Very proud man whose father also ran the site. He knows all there is to know about the site and more.
Ask to see all the record book documentation including letters from visitors. It is quirky and nice to see.
A great way to honour those who died in the war, both military and civilian.
Ask to see all the record book documentation including letters from visitors. It is quirky and nice to see.
A great way to honour those who died in the war, both military and civilian.
Written September 28, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lancashirescott
Lancashire, UK179 contributions
Sep 2018 • Solo
The War Cemetery is just north of Trincomalee, it’s not very big but you can’t really miss it, it’s on the right heading north.
There are apparently 303 WW2 graves and other Merchant and non war graves.
There are flowers, cacti, and other type of plants in between and around the graves and they really look well with differing colours, the site is really very well looked after. I spoke with a caretaker of the site he told me a lot of the graves where men from an aircraft carrier that was sunk by Japanese forces out of Batticaloa.
This is an excerpt from amazinglanka.com
“The Trincomalee cemetery was originally the Combined Services Cemetery, but was taken over by the Admiralty from the military authorities in April 1948 for use as a permanent naval cemetery. On the withdrawal of United Kingdom Forces from Ceylon it became the property of the Ceylon Government is today maintained by the Ministry of Defense on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The cemetery records 303 world war II causalities. Save for a few post-war and non-war graves it is purely a war cemetery, and service war graves were transferred to it from Trincomalee (St. Mary) Churchyard; Trincomalee (St. Stephen’s) Cemetery, Kottadi Cemetery, Jaffna; and Vavuiyna Combined Cemetery. A special memorial commemorates a naval man buried in Trincomalee (St. Stephen’s) Cemetery whose grave could not be found.
The non-war graves are those of men of the Merchant Navy whose death was not due to war service, and of civilians, of whom some were employees of the Admiralty; while the post-war graves were dependents of servicemen, civilian employees of the Admiralty and dependents of such employees.”
It’s worth a visit just to remember.
There are apparently 303 WW2 graves and other Merchant and non war graves.
There are flowers, cacti, and other type of plants in between and around the graves and they really look well with differing colours, the site is really very well looked after. I spoke with a caretaker of the site he told me a lot of the graves where men from an aircraft carrier that was sunk by Japanese forces out of Batticaloa.
This is an excerpt from amazinglanka.com
“The Trincomalee cemetery was originally the Combined Services Cemetery, but was taken over by the Admiralty from the military authorities in April 1948 for use as a permanent naval cemetery. On the withdrawal of United Kingdom Forces from Ceylon it became the property of the Ceylon Government is today maintained by the Ministry of Defense on behalf of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The cemetery records 303 world war II causalities. Save for a few post-war and non-war graves it is purely a war cemetery, and service war graves were transferred to it from Trincomalee (St. Mary) Churchyard; Trincomalee (St. Stephen’s) Cemetery, Kottadi Cemetery, Jaffna; and Vavuiyna Combined Cemetery. A special memorial commemorates a naval man buried in Trincomalee (St. Stephen’s) Cemetery whose grave could not be found.
The non-war graves are those of men of the Merchant Navy whose death was not due to war service, and of civilians, of whom some were employees of the Admiralty; while the post-war graves were dependents of servicemen, civilian employees of the Admiralty and dependents of such employees.”
It’s worth a visit just to remember.
Written September 15, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
In the port of Trincomalee there used to be a small cemetery which included personnel from the British Royal Navy. Does this cemetery still exist?
Written September 30, 2018

GrandDedale
Wellington, South Africa
Yes, it does still exist and we visited it in June
Written December 28, 2018
Hoeveel Nederlanders liggen er begraven?
En waren dat Nederlanders uit de voormalige Indonesische kolonie?
Written May 25, 2018
Volgens mijn herinnering liggen hier 6 nederlanders begraven; of ze uit de voormalige Indonesische kolonie waren durf ik niet te zeggen.
Written May 27, 2018
Sir, this cemetery is nothinig to do with sri lankan soldiers or tamil freedom fighters, purely british soldiers grave yard with tourist attraction
Written October 17, 2015
Its not meant to be? And there are Sri Lankan, Indian, Italian, New Zealand, All the allied forces who fought to save the world from being taken over by Japan.
Written January 7, 2016
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