Brookwood Military Cemetery

I'm travelling for most of tomorrow so decided to pay my respects at the Brookwood Military Cemetery ahead of the many services of remembrance that will be held there tomorrow.

The cemetery is kept to a pristine standard and the trees and shrubs were looking at their autumn best. There are graves here of many different nationalities - British, Canadian, French, German, Polish Czech, Italian, Australian, South African, New Zealand, Indian and more.

There is also a memorial to 3,438 men and women who died in various WWII raids, including those on special operations who have no known grave. Some of those commemorated there are members of the Special Operations Executive. One of them is Violette Szabo, one of only four women to receive a George Cross.

I have blipped these graves before for Remembrance Day, last year when I wrote a poem about the first day on the Somme. I was drawn to the single rose here against this headstone of an unknown soldier. I like the way the crosses slot into each other on the right.