With the exception of Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery on Hoy, Comely Bank Cemetery in Edinburgh may possibly contain the most Commonwealth War Graves in one location anywhere in Scotland. 301 servicemen are buried here, from both wars. Its location near a hospital (or two) no doubt contributed to that.

Unusually the memorial stones in the Great War section are laid flat:-

Flat memorial stones. The Stone of Remembrance is to the left here behind the shrubs:-

More flat memorial stones:-

All these flat stones commemorate more than one serviceman:-

Stone of Remembrance. It is inscribed, “1914-1918 1939-1945. To the honoured memory of his Majesty’s forces who gave their lives for their country and who lie buried in this cemetery. The following are not commemorated elsewhere. Private R Brines, Middlesex Regiment. 19/1 1920, Private A Brown, Highland Light Infantry, 9/1/1920, Private Jackson Robb, Royal Scots, 30/8/1921.”

Information board:-

An unknown sailor of the Great War, HMS Narborough, 12/1/1918:-

An unknown sailor from the Royal Oak, sunk by a German submarine, 14/10/1939:-

There are civilian burials in the cemetery at Lyness. Whether these deaths were due to enemy action or not is not made clear on the gravestones.

A Merchant Navy Seaman, Ham Fat, fireman, SS Pass of Leny, 14/6/1943:-

T H Coleman, First Radio Officer, S S Vasna, 17/9/1941, aged 46:-

“A Parsee” and “A Musalman” Sailor:-

K Ullah, fireman and trimmer, K Ullah, SS Mostyn, 30/1/1941, aged 32:-

Unusually for a Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery, in Lyness Royal Naval Cemetery, Hoy, Orkney, there are memorials other than the Cross of Sacrifice and the individual graves.

I posted about the HMS Vanguard Memorial on the anniversary of its sinking.

There is also a memorial to HMS Hampshire on which Lord Kitchener and many others died.

HMS Malaya went down in the Battle of Jutland:-

This cross commemorates Roman Catholics:-

The following memorial is to “Henry Dixon Dixon-Wright, Chaplain to HMS Barham, died 1/6/1916 of wounds received in the Battle of Jutland and in memory of officers of HMS Barham who fell that day and lie at sea.” (I note the absence of “and men” in the dedication):-

Gravestone of Zu Sing Kang RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) who died at Scapa Flow, 2/5/1916. “Erected in memory of a kind act done by a Chinaman in nursing a blinded working man afterwards Senator McGregor of the Australian Commonwealth”:-

A Boy Telegraphist, C Rogerson, HMS Pembroke I, 5/1/1918:-

A Boy 1st Class, J T Porter, HMS Malaya, 31/5/1916:-

German graves:-