Footsteps of WWII · The Netherlands
Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery
Cemetery · Sep 1944
The story
The cemetery gathers the dead of the Battle of Arnhem from temporary graves across the area. It holds around 1,760 Second World War graves, more than 240 of them unidentified, mostly British but also Polish, Canadian and Dutch. Among them are three posthumous Victoria Cross recipients: Lt John Grayburn of the 2nd Parachute Battalion, who fought at the bridge; Capt Lionel Queripel of the 10th Battalion; and Flt Lt David Lord of 271 Squadron RAF, who kept his burning Dakota over the drop zone to deliver supplies. Since 1945 local schoolchildren have laid flowers on every grave at the annual commemoration in September.
What to look for
A CWGC cemetery of white Portland headstones on a lawn edged by woodland, with the Cross of Sacrifice and Stone of Remembrance. Look for the Polish graves with their distinct pointed headstones, and the VC graves of Grayburn, Queripel and Lord.
Plan your visit
Free, open at all times. On the Van Limburg Stirumweg, a short walk north-east of the Airborne Museum. The flower-laying ceremony is held on the first weekend of September; expect crowds.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Airborne Museum Hartenstein, Oosterbeek · 1 km
- Old Church and Kate ter Horst house, Oosterbeek · 2 km
- John Frost Bridge, Arnhem · 5 km
- Ginkel Heath drop zone, Ede · 9 km
- Waal crossing memorial (De Oversteek), Nijmegen · 15 km
- Grebbeberg battlefield and military cemetery · 17 km
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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