Greenwich Cemetery (also known as Shooters Hill Cemetery) is a cemetery in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in southeast London. It is situated on the southwestern slopes of Shooter's Hill, on the western side of the A205 South Circular, Well Hall Road, approximately halfway between Woolwich, to the north, and Eltham, to the south.[1]

Headstone at the cemetery in 2020

The cemetery was established in 1856 by Greenwich Burial Board, has two "lumpish" Gothic chapels,[2] and a 1920s entrance lodge. Its hillside position gives views towards Crystal Palace and the City of London. Due to its proximity to the Royal Military Academy, Royal Arsenal, the Royal Herbert Military Hospital and other military establishments, numerous army personnel are buried in the cemetery.[3]

Memorials

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Greenwich Cemetery contains 558 World War I Commonwealth service war grave burials. Over half are scattered throughout the cemetery, but 263 form a large war graves plot known as 'Heroes' Corner', where two curved screen walls bear the names of casualties buried both in the plot and in unmarked graves in the cemetery.[4]

An adjoining World War II plot contains 75 graves; in total, the cemetery contains 124 Second World War burials, 3 of which are unidentified British soldiers, and 30 Norwegian service graves.[4] Other memorials include:

References

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  1. ^ "Greenwich Cemetery". Royal Borough of Greenwich. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e Meller, Hugh; Parsons, Brian (2013). London Cemeteries: An Illustrated Guide and Gazetteer. The History Press. ISBN 9780752496900.
  3. ^ a b c "Greenwich Cemetery". London Gardens Online. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Greenwich Cemetery". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  5. ^ Captain Wilberforce Vaughan Eaves CWGC casualty record. Accessed: 1 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Greenwich Cemetery". Deceased Online. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  7. ^ Stone, Walter Napleton, Commonwealth War Graves Commission
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51°28′11″N 0°03′15″E / 51.4697°N 0.0541°E / 51.4697; 0.0541