Gunnersbury Cemetery, London

Gunnersbury Cemetery is a municipal burial ground in west London, opened in 1929. Although it lies within the London Borough of Hounslow, it has always been run by a different authority, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. For many Poles abroad it is among the most significant places of remembrance in Britain.

Why is it in one borough but owned by another?

Kensington needed a new place for burials because its older cemetery at Hanwell had filled up. In 1925 the council bought land that had once belonged to the Rothschild family's Gunnersbury Park estate and soon afterwards laid it out as a cemetery. That is the reason for the mismatch between geography and administration.

Who is buried here?

The cemetery holds people from many backgrounds, but the Polish community is especially visible. A large share of the graves belong to wartime refugees and soldiers who stayed in Britain after the Second World War. The southern section is mostly Roman Catholic, with many Polish, Eastern European and Russian names.

Notable burials include:

• Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski (d. 1966), the Home Army commander who ordered the Warsaw Uprising of 1944;
• Jozef Smolenski (d. 1978), a cavalry officer who wrote the history of the 7th Lancers;
• Sir Carol Reed (d. 1976), the British film director;
• Prince Vsevolod Romanov (d. 1973), a great-great-grandson of Tsar Nicholas I;
• Lord Broughshane (d. 1953), Mayor of Kensington from 1913 to 1919 and a long-serving MP.

The Katyn Memorial

The most moving feature is the Katyn Memorial, a black obelisk designed by Louis Fitzgibbon. It stands where a Roman Catholic chapel was destroyed during the war. It was unveiled in 1976 in memory of some 14,500 Polish prisoners of war who vanished from Soviet camps. The unveiling was politically sensitive, since British governments during the Cold War had been reluctant to endorse such a monument. Today it is a focus for annual commemorations and wreath-laying.

War graves

The cemetery also contains 49 Commonwealth service graves from the Second World War, maintained as places of remembrance.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Gunnersbury Cemetery?

It is in Acton, close to Gunnersbury station, which is served by the Underground and suburban rail. From there it is a short walk.

Is the cemetery still in use?

Yes, it remains an active municipal cemetery. Please be quiet and respectful, particularly during funerals and ceremonies at the Katyn Memorial.

Why are there so many Poles buried here?

After the Second World War a large Polish wartime community settled in London, made up of soldiers and refugees who did not return home. The cemetery became their natural final resting place.

Is it worth a visit if I have no family here?

Yes. For anyone interested in twentieth-century history it ties together Poland, Russia and Britain, and the Katyn Memorial is one of the best-known Polish memorials outside Poland.