Bénouville and Pegasus Bridge
Ranville, the British Cemetery
British Cemetery
Ranville is best reached by taking the D513 north-eastwards out of Caen, and after about 9 kilometres turning left at Herouvillette. Go north for one kilometre and then turn left into Ranville village. The War Cemetery is on Rue des Airbornes.
The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. Ranville was the first village to be liberated in France when the bridge over the Caen Canal was captured intact in the early hours of 6 June by troops of the 6th Airborne Division, who were landed nearby by parachute and glider.
Many of the division's casualties are buried in Ranville War Cemetery and the adjoining churchyard. The Cemetery contains 2,235 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 97 of them unidentified. There are also 330 German graves and a few graves of other nationalities.
British |
2,151 |
Canadian |
76 |
Australian |
1 |
New Zealand |
1 |
Belgium |
1 |
French |
5 |
Polish |
1 |
Unknown Allied |
1 |
German |
322 |
Totally Unidentified |
1 |
Brothers buried side by side:
- Lieutenant J. Maurice Rousseau: 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, killed 20th September 1944.
- Lieutenant J. Philippe Rousseau: 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, killed 7th June 1944.
Private E.S. Corteil 9th Bn Parachute Regiment:
- Killed 6th June 1944, age 19. Buried in the same grave as his dog «Glenn», mascot of 9 Para.
Private R.J. Johns 13th Bn Parachute Regiment
- Killed 23rd July 1944, age 16. The youngest British Paratrooper killed in WW2; the youngest British soldier to die in the war was Jack Banks buried at «Jerusalem Cemetery».