Ma'asker al Raschid (Hinaidi) War Cemetery VR Walkthrough
Ma'Asker Al Raschid (formerly Hinaidi RAF Cemetery) • 3 May 2026 • 6 min 5 sec
Full walkthrough film of Ma'Asker Al Raschid (formerly Hinaidi RAF Cemetery), 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 Ma'Asker Al Raschid (formerly Hinaidi RAF Cemetery) 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 Ma'asker al Raschid (Hinaidi) War Cemetery VR 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 Ma'Asker Al Raschid (formerly Hinaidi RAF Cemetery), Rasheed / Hinaidi barracks area, south-eastern outskirts of Baghdad. The cemetery sits right next to the busy Muasker Al Rashid Road and beside a large domestic rubbish tip. The area is undergoing rapid development, with a major medical centre being built opposite.. The Ma'Asker Al Rachid Cemetery (often referred to as Hinaidi or Rasheed) near Baghdad contains the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who died in Iraq during both World Wars, as well as during the interwar RAF presence in Mesopotamia.
- 01:13
Walk along the burial rows. The camera moves through the site, past the grave rows that hold 300 recorded burials. Ma'Asker Al Rachid Cemetery served as the principal burial ground for British military personnel in the Baghdad area from WWI through WWII.
- 02:26
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. Many Indian other ranks from WWI are unnamed, reflecting the same systemic issues across Mesopotamian cemeteries: field burials, poor registration, and harsh soil.
- 03:39
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. Current condition (October 2025): The site and its history are already very well documented on Steve Buster Johnson's website, and there is little change from the last work done on the site to add a wall in 2021.
- 04:52
Closing wide view before the film ends. The film closes on a wide view of the site. As a cemetery spanning three decades of British military presence, Ma'Asker Al Rachid documents the full arc of British involvement in Iraq—from the WWI Mesopotamian Campaign through the interwar RAF policing mandate and into WWII operations.