British Civil Cemetery Walkthrough
British Civil Cemetery Baghdad (not a CWGC site) • 1 April 2026 • 6 min 45 sec
Full walkthrough film of British Civil Cemetery Baghdad (not a CWGC site), 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 British Civil Cemetery Baghdad (not a CWGC site) 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 British Civil Cemetery Walkthrough
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
Entrance and first view of the site. The film opens at British Civil Cemetery Baghdad (not a CWGC site), Battaween (Batūwīn) district of Baghdad, near the Iraqi Ministry of Education. A civil cemetery for British nationals and not strictly a military war-grave site.
- 01:21
Walk along the burial rows. The camera moves through the site, past the grave rows that hold the recorded burials. The British Civil Cemetery in Baghdad is situated in the Battaween (or Batūwīn) district, near the Iraqi Ministry of Education.
- 02:42
Close views of headstones and inscriptions. Closer views follow of individual headstones, panel faces and inscriptions, recording how legible the names and regimental badges still are. This is a civil cemetery rather than a military one, so detailed registers of all burials are scarce in the public domain.
- 04:03
Grounds, paths, planting and boundary walls. The camera records the paths, planting, boundary walls and general upkeep of the grounds. Recorded condition at the time of the survey: Derelict. The cemetery has been neglected and poorly maintained for decades.
- 05:24
Closing wide view before the film ends. The film closes on a wide view of the site. The cemetery offers a tangible link to the British civilian presence and the mandate/governance period in Iraq.