martin14 martin14:
Cemetery: BENY-SUR-MER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY, REVIERS
Country: France
Visiting Information: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission wishes to announce a 3 year headstone replacement programme at Beny Sur Mer Canadian War Cemetery. The replacement of some 2048 headstones is required because an unusually rapid deterioration of the existing markers has resulted in poor standards of legibility. The project will consist of three stages. Phase one involves the replacement of 768 headstones within plots II,III,VI,VII,X and XI. This work will be carried out between September 2008 and November 2008. Phase two will consist of 640 headstones for plots I,V,IX,XIII,and XIV. This phase will take place during 2009 -10 but will be scheduled not to impact upon the 65th D-Day anniversary ceremonies in June 2009. Phase three will consist of 640 headstones for plots IV,VIII,XII,XV1 and XV. The whole project is anticipated to be completed by March 2011.
Location Information: Reviers is a village lying 18 kilometres east of Bayeux, 15 kilometres north west of Caen and 4 kilometres south of Courseulles-sur-Mer. The cemetery lies on the north side of the main road 1 kilometre east of Reviers.
Historical Information: The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. Many of those buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery were men of the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on 6 June or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division. The cemetery contains 2,048 Second World War burials, the majority Canadian, and 19 of them unidentified.
No. of Identified Casualties: 2030