Fodor's Expert Review Barbados Military Cemetery

The cemetery, also referred to as Gravesend or Garrison Military Cemetery, is near the shore behind historic St. Ann's Fort. First used in 1780, when the area was pretty much marshland, the dead were placed in shallow graves or simply left on top of the ground where, within a few short days, many were absorbed into the swamp. In the early 20th century, a number of the remaining graves were dug up to provide room for oil storage tanks; salvaged headstones were placed on a cenotaph, erected in 1920–24. A "Cross of Sacrifice" was erected in 1982 to honor all the military dead; a second cenotaph, erected in 2003, honors the Barbadian merchant seamen who died in World War II.