Basra Memorial VR Walkthrough, Part 3
Basra Memorial to the Missing • 3 May 2026 • 1 min 52 sec
Full walkthrough film of Basra Memorial to the Missing, Iraq, recorded on site during the Commonwealth war graves field survey. The footage records the condition of the headstones, memorial panels, grounds and boundary walls.
The film was recorded at Basra Memorial to the Missing as part of the independent field survey of Commonwealth war graves in Iraq. It is published here as a permanent visual record of the site for families, researchers and journalists who cannot travel to Iraq.
Full transcript of Basra Memorial VR Walkthrough, Part 3
This film was recorded on site without spoken narration. The transcript below is a descriptive, timecoded account of what the camera records in each section of the film, compiled from the field survey notes for this site.
- 00:00
Approach to the memorial and the first view of the structure. The film opens at Basra Memorial to the Missing, Shaiba Road, near Basra (moved from original Maqil location in 1997). The Basra Memorial commemorates over 40,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Mesopotamia campaign and have no known grave, the largest such memorial outside Europe.
- 00:22
Walk along the memorial panels. The camera moves through the site, past the grave rows that hold 40,682 recorded burials, 40,682 from the First World War. The Basra Memorial to the missing is the third largest Commonwealth Memorial in the world and the largest outside Europe.
- 00:45
Close views of the panel faces, names and damage. Closer views follow of individual headstones, panel faces and inscriptions, recording how legible the names and regimental badges still are. The predominance of Indian other ranks in the "missing" reflects both wartime record practices and colonial inequities in registration.
- 01:07
The plinths, walkways and ground condition. The camera records the paths, planting, boundary walls and general upkeep of the grounds. Recorded condition at the time of the survey: Deteriorating. **November 2025 Assessment:** A 35 minute drive from Basra in an area used by oil and quarry companies.
- 01:30
Closing wide view of the memorial. The film closes on a wide view of the site. The Basra Memorial is the third largest Commonwealth memorial in the world.