Historical Information:During the two world wars, the United Kingdom became an island fortress used for training troops and launching land, sea and air operations around the globe. There are more than 170,000 Commonwealth war graves in the United Kingdom, many being those of servicemen and women killed on active service, or who later
succumbed to wounds. Others died in training accidents, or because of sickness or disease. The graves, many of them privately owned and marked by private memorials, will be found in more than 12,000 cemeteries and churchyards. During both wars, there were a number of military hospitals at Bristol and the city was the depot of the
Gloucestershire Regiment. During the Second World War there were also a number of Royal Air Force stations and prisoner of war camps in the area. Bristol (Arnos Vale) Roman Catholic Cemetery contains 52 First World War burials, mostly of men who died at the local hospitals, particularly the 2nd Southern General and the Beaufort,
many of whom were landed at Avonmouth from hospital ships from the Mediterranean. Forty of the graves form a war plot, marked by a screen wall bearing the names of the dead. The cemetery also contains 11 Second World War burials and ten Belgian and Portuguese war graves