The Mortuary Chapel of Aldershot Military Cemetery

Aldershot Military Cemetery, is a burial ground for Military personal, or ex military personnel. Located in Aldershot Military Town, Hampshire. The Cemetery is also open for the internment of wives and families of all ranks, and for some civilians who have spent their life with the army. Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place (usually an enclosed area of land) in which dead bodies are buried. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Hampshire, sometimes historically Southamptonshire or Hamptonshire, (abbr. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... A civilian is a person who is not a member of a military. ...

The Cemetery, which lies between Thorn Hill and Peaked Hill, and is bordered to the south by Ordnance Road. Entrance from Gallwey Road, near where the old time-gun stood.

Unlike any other military cemetery in the united kingdom, for not only is it set on hills and small valleys in natural surrounds, but here, at rest, lie fighting men of nine nations, who have served and died in Aldershot.

Early history

The Cemetery was first enclosed in 1856. and although a number of soldiers were buried on the site prior to that year, Soldiers and their families were interned in the churchyard of the village parish church of St Michel's prior to then.

In 1870 the cemetery became the responsibility of the senior R. E. (Royal Engineers) Officer in "The Camp." the Protestant portion of the cemetery was consecrated by Samuel Wilberforce, the then bishop of Winchester on the 1st of November 1870. The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... A photo of Samuel Wilberforce by Lewis Carroll Samuel Wilberforce (September 7, 1805 - July 19, 1873), English bishop, third son of William Wilberforce, was born at Clapham Common, London. ... Arms of the Bishop of Winchester The diocese of Winchester is one of the oldest and most important in England. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The Mortuary Chapel was built in 1879 on newly acquired ground that had been used as a signal post, to replace a wooden chapel built lower down the slope, at the time the cemetery was opened.

Present Day

The graves are set in beautifully tendered steep rolling grounds of 15 acres, traversed by many tarmacadam paths. The area is well wooded with oaks, pines, firs and chestnut trees, interspersed with Yew topiary and Rhododendrons. Tarmac, short for tar-penetration macadam, is a type of highway pavement no longer commonly used. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Subgenera Subgenus Strobus Subgenus Ducampopinus Subgenus Pinus See Pinus classification for complete taxonomy to species level. ... FIR may stand for: finite impulse response (a property of some digital filters) far infrared, i. ... Species Castanea alnifolia - Bush Chinkapin* Castanea crenata - Japanese Chestnut Castanea dentata - American Chestnut Castanea henryi - Henrys Chestnut Castanea mollissima - Chinese Chestnut Castanea ozarkensis - Ozark Chinkapin Castanea pumila - Allegheny Chinkapin Castanea sativa - Sweet Chestnut Castanea seguinii - Seguins Chestnut * treated as a synonym of by many authors Chestnut (Castanea), including... Binomial name Taxus baccata L. Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. ... A topiary dinosaur at Epcot Topiary is the art of creating sculptures in the medium of shrubbery, after the Latin word for an ornamental landscape gardener, toparius. ... Subgenera Azaleastrum Candidastrum Hymenanthes Mumeazalea Pentanthera (Azaleas) Rhododendron Therorhodion Tsutsusi (Azaleas) Vireya Source: RBG, Edinburgh Rhododendron (from the Greek: rhodos, rose, and dendron, tree) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. ...

Some parts are of bracken and heather, that are typical of the Aldershot countryside nearby, and possibly this was how this land was in the days before "The Camp" was built and before the cemetery was opened in 1865. The graves themselves are mostly set amid the fine textured close-cut turf. The cemetery being bordered as a whole, by holly hedging. The Most western part of the grounds, where some of the earliest headstones are to be found, has been intentionally allowed to become overgrown. The loftier parts of the ground offer pleasant views of the Surrey heathlands, that form some of the nearby Army training grounds. Species Pteridium aquilinum Pteridium caudatum Pteridium latiusculum and about 7-8 other species Brackens (Pteridium) are a genus of about ten species of large, coarse ferns, in the family Hypolepidaceae. ... Binomial name Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull Heather redirects here. ... Turf may refer to Sod, the surface layer of ground consisting of a matt of grass and grass roots, sometimes used as a construction material AstroTurf, or any variety of artificial turf made to resemble grass A colloquialism for the world of horse-racing Slang for territory claimed by a... Species Ilex ambigua - Sand Holly Ilex amelanchier - Swamp Holly Ilex aquifolium - European Holly Ilex bioritsensis Ilex buergeri Ilex canariensis - Small-leaved Holly Ilex cassine - Dahoon Holly Ilex centrochinensis Ilex ciliospinosa Ilex colchica Ilex collina Ilex corallina Ilex coriacea Ilex cornuta - Chinese Holly Ilex crenata - Japanese Holly Ilex cyrtura Ilex decidua...

Here, in surroundings familiar during their soldering days are the graves of the fighting men of all ranks and many nations, who have served, lived and died in Aldershot. Some of service personnel having passed away in the nearby Cambridge Military Hospital, from wounds or disease contracted while on active service overseas. A wound is a physical trauma where the skin is torn, cut or punctured. ... A disease or medical condition is an abnormality that causes discomfort, dysfunction, distress, or death to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ...

Notable graves

View of Aldershot Military Cemetery

• Samuel Cody, the early pioneer of manned flight, and often said - incorecty, to be the only civilian grave in the cemetery.

• Keith Lucas, British scientist, who died in an aircraft collision in the First World War

• Michael Murphy (VC). Irish born recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was one of only eight men who forfeited their Victoria Crosses.

• Field Marshal Sir Henry Evelyn Wood VC GCB GCMG. Recipient of the Victoria Cross, awarded for his part in putting down the Sinwaho & Sindhora Indian Mutiny of 19 October 1858

• The headstone of Major William Davidson Bissett VC. posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross in the latter part of the First World War. He was cremated in Pentyrebychan Crematorium, Wrexham .

• Sergeant Ian John McKay VC who died at Mt Longdon, East Falklands, an important objective in the battle for Stanley in the Falkland Islands.

Samuel Franklin Cody (1867 - August 7, 1913) was an early pioneer of manned flight, most famous for his work on the large kites known as Cody War-Kites that were used in World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting. ... In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ... Graves at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. ... Keith Lucas FRS (8 March 1879 - 5 October 1916) was a British scientist. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... For other people with the same name, see Michael Murphy Michael Murphy (1831-April 4, 1893) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ... Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ... Photo submitted by Marion Hebblethwaite. ... Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ... 1858 (MDCCCLVIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... William Davidson Bissett (VC, Croix de Guerre avec Palme (France)) was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ... Victoria Cross medal, ribbon, and bar. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... Ian John McKay (7 May 1953 – 12 June 1982) was a posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. ...

External links

• Rushmoor Borough Council
• Grave Location for Holders of the Victoria Cross in the County of Hampshire
• The British War Memorial Project

Sources

• The Story of Aldershot (a history and Guide to town and camp), Cole, Ltnt Col Howard N, OBE TD, 1951, Gale & Polden