The Canadian War Cemetery

A Grave Encounter

I am fascinated by graveyards.  When I worked in an office in Edinburgh I used to eat my lunch in one.  In general they are peaceful, green places full of birdsong and rich in stories. And some headstones are small works of art.

This interest of mine does not always go down well with Italians, who have a different perception of cemeteries. I found this out the hard way when, while poking around a graveyard on a trip to Scotland with Italian friends, I sat down on a bench and produced our picnic lunch. I can still recall the shock on their faces.

War cemeteries have, I believe, a more universal appeal because they are part of our shared history and so we feel less like intruders. Though you can’t really eat lunch in them.

The Moro River Cemetery

They are, though, beautiful and poignant places. The Canadian War Cemetery is typical: a lawn like a hoovered carpet, trees, flowers and butterflies, and of course rows upon rows of pristine white headstones.

Otherwise known as the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery, it is located near Ortona. Many of the soldiers who now lie at peace in the cemetery were Canadians who died in the Battle of Ortona, the scene of some of the most bitter fighting in Italy during the Second World War. The battle came to be known as the ‘Italian Stalingrad’ because the town came under siege and the soldiers engaged in vicious house-to-house combat in wintry, wet, miserable conditions.

There are 1665 soldiers buried here.

We read about this in the little registry office at the entrance where we sign our names in the visitors’ book before wandering over the lawns to read some of the headstones.

As always, in war cemeteries, we ponder the ages of the dead.  Mere boys.

The Moro River Cemetery is not, in my opinion, the most beautiful war cemetery in the area.  That honour goes the Sangro River Cemetery because of its stunning natural location. But a visit to Moro River is sobering and steadying and eminently worth it.

The Moro River Cemetery is south of Ortona, on the SS-16 Adriatica at San Donato-Moro, Province of Chieti