6 Sqn RAF, CWGC Cemeteries in Iraq & WW1 Aviation
Basra RAF Cemetery
The Basra RAF Peace Cemetery occupies the northern corner of the Basra War Cemetery, as shown in the diagram below and holds the remains of sixty-three (63) servicemen and eight (8) civilians who died 'Between the Wars'. Though its name suggests the burials are solely for Royal Air Force personnel, this is not the case, as explained further down this page.
Basra War Cemetery Diagram (RAF Cemetery highlighted)
Basra RAF Cemetery Diagram with Grave Locations
With the kind assistance of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission I am able to share details and specific grave locations for the seventy-one (71) men buried at the Basra (Makina) RAF Peace Cemetery. Forty-six graves are for Royal Air Force personnel, nine graves for men of the Royal Navy, three from the British Army, five from the Indian Army and eight civilians. As the cemetery is for deaths that were 'between the wars', details are not available on the 'Find War Dead' search facility on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, though the names of the fallen do appear in the on-line Iraq Roll of Honour (click on the following link to view the ROH https://www.cwgc.org/non-commemoration/rolls-of-honour/ and look at pages 153 and 154). For each of the 71 graves I have shown in the diagram below the name, date of death and the Service type where applicable, since eight of the graves were for civilian deaths. Note that Lieutenant John Henry Ford is listed as serving with the Indian Army but he was originally commissioned into the British Army (Royal Engineers) in 1919.
Searchable Database of Graves at the Basra RAF Cemetery
Using the data provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and with the kind assistance of Paul McMillan, I have created a searchable database for all 71 burials showing (where available) the full name, rank, service number, age at death, Regiment, Force, grave location and cause of death. The information is held on-line (Google Sheets) and will be updated automatically on this website as more details come to hand.