Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Kirkee, also known as Khadki, is a Military Cantonment adjoining the large university town of Poona on the Plateau above Bombay. It can be reached by train from Bombay to Poona or by long distance taxi service from Dadar Taxi Stand, Bombay. There are direct flights from Bombay, Madras and Delhi but these tend to be irregular. Taxis and Motor Rickshaws are available from Pune Railway Station. To reach the cemetery, one must ask for Mula Road along which the cemetery is located. One way is to cross the Sangam Bridge and follow the road which has the River Mula on its right. The CWGC road direction board is on a crossroads with the Bombay Poona Road. The cemetery is situated on the right hand side and backs onto the river. From the railway station follow the way via Juna Bazar, Sangam Bridge, past the Engineering college, over Wakdewadi Bridge, past Bajaj Kamal Nayan Udyan and onto Bhayawadi and Mula Roads. From the airport, one reaches Ahmadnagar Road which joins onto Nagar Road followed by Deccan College Road; over the Holkar Bridge and, keeping left at the junction with Elphinson road, one enters Mula Road. The cemetery is a short distance away on the left hand side of the road. The Commonwealth War Graves road direction sign is situated at the junctions of Elphinson Road and Mula Road, but it should be noted that this is often hidden from view by Market Stalls. Situated at the far end of Kirkee War Cemetery, facing the entrance, are the Kirkee 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 Memorials. The 1914-1918 Memorial commemorates nearly two thousand soldiers who served and died in India during the 1914-1918 War, who are buried in many civil and cantonment cemeteries in India and Pakistan where their graves can no longer be properly maintained. The Kirkee 1939-1945 Memorial commemorates 193 East and West African soldiers who died in non-operational zones in India, whose graves either cannot be located or are so situated that maintenance is not possible.