El Alamein Memorial

In Egypt, the memorial at El Alamein War Cemetery bears the names of 213 Canadian airmen. These men served all over the Middle East during the Second World War. Above the entrance to the cloisters, which protect the 11,868 names of those of the Commonwealth who died with no known grave, is the following inscription:

WITHIN THIS CLOISTER ARE INSCRIBED THE NAMES OF SOLDIERS AND AIRMEN OF THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH AND EMPIRE WHO DIED FIGHTING ON LAND OR IN THE AIR WHERE TWO CONTINENTS MEET AND TO WHOM THE FORTUNE OF WAR DENIED A KNOWN AND HONOURED GRAVE.

The name panels are of Portland stone and the cloisters are of limestone quarried nearby. This is desert country, but beds of roses front the memorial. Water from tanks along the nearby railroad and stored in underground reservoirs, ensures an oasis-like atmosphere. A short approach road, marked by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, leads to the Memorial site off the main desert highway.

Directions

Alamein is a village, bypassed by the main coast road, approximately 130 kilometres west of Alexandria on the road to Mersa Matruh. The first Commonwealth War Graves Commission road direction sign is located just beyond the Alamein police checkpoint and all visitors should turn off from the main road onto the parallel old coast road. The cemetery lies off the road, slightly beyond a ridge, and is indicated by road direction signs approximately 25 metres before the low metal gates and stone wing walls which are situated centrally at the road edge at the head of the access path into the cemetery. The Cross of Sacrifice feature may be seen from the road.