Memorials to the missing
On this page
Memorials to the Missing of the First and Second World Wars
Such was the nature of the world wars that vast numbers of casualties were never found or never positively identified; Over 35,000 Australians from these wars have no known grave. However, as every Australian who dies during war is officially commemorated, those with no known grave are commemorated on a Memorial to the Missing, in Australia and across the world.
Many Memorials to the Missing are within war cemeteries, and the unidentified graves at those cemeteries would doubtless include some of those who are listed on the memorials. Yet, even today, our war dead are occasionally found or identified, and the numbers on Memorials to the Missing and of identified graves change to reflect this.
As with all official commemorations, Memorials to the Missing are maintained in perpetuity and with all possible care and respect.
The name of a single Australian is inscribed beside his Commonwealth allies on a memorial in the UK; Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli bears the names of over 4,000 ANZACs and the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux commemorates over 10,000 missing Australians. Sadly, there are still more on memorials across the world where Australians have fought and died.
In all too many cases, alas, those who fall upon the field of battle, fall in some part of the field where no friend can reach them alive. The burial parties, which work wherever it is possible, often in danger, cannot reach them under the machine guns of the enemy. Months afterwards, sometimes years, the battle rolls beyond that place, and these poor forms are dealt with as tenderly as the time and place allow ... too often there is left no trace or clue as to the soldier's name. Private or officer, he lies there, 'An Unknown Soldier'.
Where the Australians Rest, Department of Defence, Melbourne, 1920
Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France
Panel from Menin Gate Memorial, Belgium
Saluting the grave of one unknown Australian soldier at Kranji War Cemetery, Singapore, Remembrance Day, 1948
Footnotes
- Memorials to the Missing may include those whose remains were cremated but who were unidentified. Cremation memorials, such as those at Australian capital city war cemeteries, commemorate those known dead who were cremated rather than buried. The principle remains that a person will be commemorated on either a Memorial to the Missing or, if identified, a cremation memorial or a war grave.
- Mainly airmen whose wrecked aircraft are subsequently found; also those whose graves are able to be identified through careful private research.
- The responsibility of maintaining Memorials to the Missing is divided between Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG), as its agent, according to location. Australia, as a member government, contributes to CWGC in proportion to the number of its war dead, 6.05%.
Cemetery / Memorials to the Missing
Commemorating Australian war dead
- Australia
- Belgium
- Canada
- China
- Egypt
- France
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- India
- Indonesia
- Iraq
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Myanmar
- Papua New Guinea
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Türkiye
- United Kingdom
Australia
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide River War Cemetery | WW2 | 292 |
| Sydney War Cemetery | WW2 | 741 |
Belgium
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial | WW1 | 6,195 |
Canada
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Memorial, Ottawa | WW2 | 32 |
China
(including Hong Kong)
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Hong Kong (PDF 3.63 MB) |
WW2 | 23 |
Egypt
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| El Alamein War Cemetery El Alamein War Cemetery (PDF 104 KB) El Alamein War Cemetery (DOC 2.42 MB) |
WW2 | 658 |
| Chatby War Memorial Cemetery | WW1 | 134 |
France
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| VC Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles | WW1 | 1 294 |
| The Arras Flying Services Memorial, Faubourg D'Amiens Cemetery | WW1 | 17 |
| Villers-Bretonneux Memorial | WW1 | 10,772 |
Gibraltar
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Gibraltar (North Front) Cemetery | WW2 | 7 |
Greece
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Athens Memorial, Phaleron War Cemetery | WW2 | 328 |
India
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| The Delhi Memorial, India Gate | WW1 | 1 |
| Kirkee 1914-1918 Memorial | WW1 | 4 |
Indonesia
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Ambon War Cemetery, Ambon Island | WW2 | 444 |
Iraq
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Basra Memorial | WW1 | 11 |
Israel
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| The Jerusalem Memorial, Jerusalem War Cemetery |
WW1 | 239 |
Jamaica
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston (Up Park Camp) Memorial No 1 Kingston (Up Park Camp) Military Cemetery |
WW1 | 2 |
Malaysia
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Labuan Memorial, Labuan War Cemetery |
WW2 | 2,225 |
Malta
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Malta Memorial | WW2 | 206 |
Myanmar
(formerly Burma)
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Rangoon Memorial, Taukyan War Cemetery, Rangoon |
WW2 | 2 |
Papua New Guinea
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Lae Memorial, Lae War Cemetery |
WW2 | 328 |
| Port Moresby Memorial, Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery |
WW2 | 740 |
| Rabaul Memorial, Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery |
WW2 | 1 216 |
Sierra Leone
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Freetown (King Tom) Cemetery Memorial | WW2 | 10 |
Singapore
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Singapore Civil Hospital Grave Memorial | WW2 | 2 |
| Kranji War Cemetery and the Singapore Memorials Kranji War Cemetery and the Singapore Memorials (PDF 447 KB) Kranji War Cemetery and the Singapore Memorials (DOC 25 MB) |
WW2 | 1 638 |
Türkiye (Gallipoli)
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Helles Memorial | WW1 | 250 |
| Lone Pine Memorial | WW1 | 4,222 |
United Kingdom
| Cemetery / Memorial | War Involvement | Number of Australians commemorated |
|---|---|---|
| Brookwood Memorial, Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey |
WW2 | 1 |
| Hollybrook Memorial, Southampton (Hollybrook) Cemetery, Hampshire |
WW1 | 162 |
| Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon (PDF 102 KB) Plymouth Naval Memorial, Devon (DOC 2.23 MB) |
WW1 WW2 |
73 1 783 |
| Runnymede Memorial, Surrey Runnymede Memorial, Surrey (PDF 1.13 MB) Runnymede Memorial, Surrey (DOC 194 MB) |
WW2 | 1 391 |
| Tower Hill Memorial, London Tower Hill Memorial, London (PDF 152 KB) Tower Hill Memorial, London (DOC 8.67 KB) |
WW1 WW2 |
3 47 |
Footnotes
- As at September 2003. This number excludes those whose remains have been identified since their name was inscribed, though for practical reasons, the inscription may remain on the memorial until the panel is refurbished.