American Military Cemetery - Madingley Road, Coton, Cambridge, UK - Olmsted Designed Parks on Waymarking.com

The Olmsted Research Guide has the following information:

'Job Number: 09790
Job Name: American Military Cemetery
City-County: Cambridge
Country: England
Type 1: 08 Cemeteries, Burial Lots, Memorials and Monuments
Number of Plans Available: 146
Date Range of Available Plans: 1947-1953
Correspondence Dates: 1947-1967; 1976
Includes Correspondence at Library of Congress? No'

The American Cemetery War Memorial is an awe-inspiring white wall depicting the names of the American soldiers who died in the First and Second World War. The cemetery is full of white crosses marking the graves of fallen soldiers.

Wikipedia describes the site:visit link

'A cemetery and chapel dedicated to American servicemen opened in 1956, on the southern edge of the village beside the road from Cambridge to St Neots. The 30½ acres were donated by the University of Cambridge.

3812 American military dead are buried in the cemetery. In addition, the names of 5127 are inscribed on the Wall of the Missing, Americans who lost their lives but whose remains were never recovered or identified. Most of these died in the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) or in the strategic air bombardment of Northwest Europe during World War II.'

The wall includes four soldier statues and described by the Smithsonian website the following: 'Three pools surrounded by flowers lead to a mausoleum. To one side is a wall with four figures, these figures represent the following: the man with the wheel is Navy; the man with the machine gun represents the Air Force; and the man with the ammunition represents the Coast Guard; the man with the rifle represents the Army.'

The cool pools are edged with box hedging and the grass and stonework is kept immaculate. There was a staff member polishing the crosses when we visited.

There is a Memorial Building in the cemetery on the eastern edge of the site. It has various inscriptions including a map of Great Britain:

'TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND
IN MEMORY OF THOSE
WHO DIED FOR THEIR COUNTRY
1941-1945'

'IN GRATEFUL TRIBUTE TO THEIR SACRIFICE AND
IN PROUD MEMORY OF THEIR VALOR'

'THESE AND MANY OTHER SITES WERE LENT BY
THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
TO THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN ORDER THAT THEY MIGHT PREPARE AND SUPPORT
THEIR GREAT MILITARY ASSAULTS
1941-1945'

The inscription on the wall reads:
'THE AMERICANS WHOSE NAMES HERE APPEAR
WERE PART OF THE PRICE THAT FREE MEN
FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THIS CENTURY
HAVE BEEN FORCED TO PAY TO DEFEND
HUMAN LIBERTY AND RIGHTS
ALL WHO SHALL HEREAFTER LIVE IN FREEDOM
WILL BE HERE REMINDED THAT TO THESE MEN
AND THEIR COMRADES
WE OWE A DEBT TO BE PAID
WITH GRATEFUL REMEMBERANCE OF THEIR SACRIFICE
AND THE HIGH RESOLVE THAT THE CAUSE FOR WHICH THEY DIED
SHALL LIVE ETERNALLY'

Type of Public Space: American Military Cemetery Job Number: 09790 Architect: Olmstead Brothers of Brookine Massachusetts

Visit Instructions:
There are no specific visit requirements, however telling about your visit is strongly encouraged. Additional photos of the park to add to the gallery are also nice, but not required. Pictures with a GPS or you in them is highly discouraged.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   06/06/2021 fm1906 visited it