Jinja War Cemetery
- Country Uganda
- Total identified casualties 178 Find these casualties
- Identified casualties from First & Second World War
- GPS Coordinates Latitude: 0.43186, Longitude: 33.20271
Please note
Please be aware that there are steps leading into the Cemetery.
Location information
Jinja is the second largest town in Uganda, near the site of the Owen Falls Dam over the outfall of the River Nile from Lake Victoria. Jinja is 80 kilometres east of Kampala on the road to Tororo and Kenya. Jinja War Cemetery is about 3 kilometres from the centre of town and lies on the right hand side of Baxi Road, which leads from Clive Road to the Golf Course.
Visiting information
ARRIVAL
The route to the cemetery is signposted.
PARKING
It is possible to park in an area to the front of the cemetery.
The ground is flat, and firm and consists of compacted earth and sand, there is space for multiple vehicles.
The parking area is approximately 5 metres from the main entrance.
ACCESS, LAYOUT AND MAIN ENTRANCE
The cemetery is a square shape, the ground outside the cemetery is higher than the burial area of the cemetery.
At the main entrance, there is a black mid-level (thigh height) latched double metal gate 1.8 metres wide on a red sandstone platform.
A small lip step, approximately 15 centimetres high separates the exterior area from the main entrance, with a narrow dirt strip between the grass and raised paving.
The Cross of Sacrifice stands in the middle of the platform at the main entrance.
There are 5 deep stone steps going down from the platform into the burial plot on either side of the Cross. A narrow dirt strip separates the grass and bottom step.
There is a large free standing stone memorial at the furthest point from the main entrance in a central position, The Jinja Memorial. Engraved stone panels are mounted in a stone wall above a large platform.
The internal paths are grass, the ground is firm and level.
There is no Register box or seating areas in the cemetery.
ALTERNATIVE ACCESS
In the far-right corner of the cemetery from the main entrance is the service entrance. There is a 2.5-metre-wide tall (chest height) metal security gate. The gate is locked and requires access from staff on-site.
The ground is flat and firm, the surface is grass.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The Jinja Memorial stands in the cemetery at the furthest point from the main entrance.
The Cemetery is open Monday to Friday 0600 hrs to 1800 hrs, outside of these hours the cemetery is locked with a coded padlock.
For the code, please contact CWGC (Commonwealth War Graves Commission) Office Kenya on 00254 20260 4301.
History information
During the Second World War, Jinja was the Uganda centre for the King's African Rifles.
JINJA WAR CEMETERY contains one burial of the First World War and 179 burials and commemorations of the Second World War. Two of the burials are unidentified and one soldier is commemorated by a special memorial. The cemetery also contains four post war service graves.
Within the cemetery stands the JINJA MEMORAL, which commemorates 127 men of the East African Forces who died during the Second World War but whose graves were so situated that maintenance for all time could not be assured.