Imagine a garden of memory. That’s what Cimetière de Mazargues feels like. The Cimetière de Mazargues is a British military cemetery in Marseille. It is dedicated to soldiers who died in the two World Wars.
This peaceful space extends over 9,000 square meters. Symmetries alternate with green lawns. Mineral perspectives blend with plant species. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission administers the Cimetière de Mazargues. A passionate gardener maintains it perfectly.
The Cimetière de Mazargues holds 1,742 soldiers of the British Empire. 267 victims of the Second World War are in an extension. This extension was added after the Great War. An information panel sheds light on the British forces’ role. It explains their involvement in both world wars.
Marseille served as a base for Indian troops in France during World War I. The Royal Navy and British troops worked in the port. Labour units crossed through it. Four city cemeteries were used for Commonwealth officers and troops. They died in Marseille. Indian soldiers and workers were cremated at Cimetière Saint-Pierre. This happened between 1914 and 1916.
The old and new cemeteries of Le Canet held Indian soldiers. They also held Indian, Egyptian, and Chinese workers. This was between 1917 and 1919. The Cimetière de Mazargues was less used during the war. Before the Armistice, an extension was made. Bodies and ashes were moved from the four city cemeteries. They also came from the communal cemetery of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône.
During World War II, the extension held airmen from the UK and Commonwealth. They died throughout southern France from 1940 to 1945. The Mazargues Military Cemetery commemorates 1,478 victims of the 1914-18 war. It also remembers 264 from the 1939-45 war.
Enter the Cimetière de Mazargues like entering a garden. A Scottish gardener maintains it. He is mandated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He chooses the plants. He researches the deceased. He helps families often living far away. He discovered a soldier’s death was not in combat. It was a brawl with a superior after drinking in Marseille.
Despite dramatic stories, symmetry and harmony prevail. Basins at a large cross release water into a central canal. Tombs are nearly identical in varying whites. The old British Empire reveals itself in stone engravings. There are Indian Devanagari and Egyptian Arabic letters. English, Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand tombs stand side-by-side. South African and Chinese graves are also present. Captain A.K. Hay’s grave from 1944 is next to Hindou Valabh Devji’s from 1918.
A register allows visitors to leave their mark. Few locals leave messages as the site is not well known to them.
The Cimetière de Mazargues is perhaps one of Marseille’s best-maintained landscapes. It opens daily except weekends during gardening hours. Access is through the civilian Cimetière de Mazargues on weekends. It opens early and closes at 6 PM from March to October. From November to February, it closes at 5:30 PM. Take a moment to appreciate this beautifully maintained space. Reflect on the lives and sacrifices commemorated here at Cimetière de Mazargues.