Cumberland
Silloth, a seaport town on the Solway Firth, is the port of Carlisle which lies 22 miles inland.
During the early months of the 1939-1945 War a section in the south-eastern corner of the cemetery was set aside by the local authorities for the burial of service personnel, which was gradually extended to cover Sections S and R and half of Section P. This is now the War Graves Plot.
Most of the airmen buried here were serving at the Royal Air Force Station at Silloth, where there is a large aerodrome. Many of the bodies were recovered from the sea, and two could not be identified.
During the war a site was selected for the Cross of Sacrifice and reserved by the local authorities. It stands in an imposing position at the entrance to the cemetery, and is approached by a short flight of stone steps up the sloping bank. The raised mound is surrounded by a circular terrace. The Cross, in its central position on the mound, dominates the whole of this beautiful cemetery, including the War Graves Plot in the far left-hand corner.
The cemetery covers about 4 acres.
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